Gilded Hearts:
by Writing Muse
Summary: Forever by his side, forever constant, forever silent. Protecting the Queen was always the one & only thing that the Knave of Hearts concerned himself with until one fateful day. Wonderland is haunted with a serial killer & Ace ponders of his own past.KxQ
1. Prologue

**-Gilded Hearts-**

Prologue:

_Yesterday, upon the stair,_

_I met a man who wasn't there._

_He wasn't there again today_

_I wish, I wish he'd go away_

_-Hughes Mearns "Antigonish"_

It was cold at the bottom of the castle. A stoned and hollow foundation that lies at the pit of the gilded palace. Ghostly echoes of water dripping would sometimes accompany the White Rabbit. He had come to this place many times before with the same reoccurring errand. Too many times he'd sometimes whisper back to the damp walls.

The sound of weightless footsteps caught the pale Rabbit's attention. Emerging from the darkness of the cold stoned corridor came a tall, cloaked figure of a lady in black. Black lace cascaded down from the crown of her head; masking her face from the Rabbit. He waited for his instructions from the Lady In Waiting.

Several stone tiles away, she stopped and daintily placed her hands on top of one another between her hips and bowed her head to the floor.

"We need the following replacements:" She began in an automated voice—void of any detail of her person other than her sex.

"Yes?" The White Rabbit listened.

"Two children for the pie maker, a boy and a girl pair. Three ladies for his Majesty. Six workers for the construction of the Belltower. A watchmaker. A wife for the bookstore keeper. Another mailman. Two more maids for the palace. Eight more guards. Another school teacher for the younger children as well as four more policemen."

The White Rabbit needn't a pen and paper to account for the number of individuals that the Lady ticked off. Like a grocery store boy who was use to filling orders for customers, he was no different in experience. The list of identities was ingrained in his head for he had filled similar orders many times before. He turned to leave; assuming the Lady was done ticking off her grocery list of people until the unexpected sound of her continuing voice caught the Rabbit off guard—almost startled.

"And one more thing." She began; halting the Rabbit in his tracks. "This last item is of great importance for his Majesty."

"Great importance? …A character?" The White Rabbit was puzzled. _It couldn't be that we need a new Duchess by now already? We had only replaced her a mere month ago. _He thought.

"The Queen demands for the White Rabbit to procure a replacement to substitute his aid. He is in need of a personal attendant—another young male to both protect and watch over him." The Rabbit tilted his head. He had thought there'd be more chance of replacing the Queen himself than her personal aid.

"What of the last one? What happened to him—''

"That is all, White Rabbit." The haunting Lady said as she turned to leave—melting away into the shadows of where she came.

The White Rabbit didn't move from his turning stance. He listening to the resonating echoes of the Lady's last footfalls before she was completely gone. The same question plagued the White Rabbit's mind—freezing him to his spot.

_What happened to him? _

PLEASE REVIEW!

I know this is a short chapter but more of a taste of what's to come—not a true chapter both in length and content but it kinda opens the scene of the story. I promise this story is gonna be one full of murder, secrets, and sex—a true thriller from this amazing series Are You Alice? The stanza that introduces the prologue is actually taken from an actual poem, which is used within the thriller movie, Identity, several years ago. It's actually a really creepy ghost story of a poem and I thought it was perfect to set the eerie and dark tone to this story. I know its not much but I want to know from the audience as to how the writing is so far since it's been a while since I've last posted something of worth. The First Chapter will follow soon after but please REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 1:Whispering Love Letters

**-Gilded Hearts-**

Chapter I: Whispering Love Letters

_Something in the way you crucify me_

_It makes me smile._

_And when you offer up your sacrament_

_You drown the whole world in your fire._

_You can sail that way to the ship_

_And tap your pointless ancient fingers to the bone._

_But when your vessel sinks your drowning_

_It will know that you've done nothing on your own._

_-"Mirrors" Crocodiles_

She trembled as she pointed her herself, replying with a meek voice similar to her saying, "Me?"

"Why yessss." The cobra snake lounged back into his cushioned throne; recoiling before his initial strike and final blow to its prey. It only needed one for this little mouse of a girl. "Only _you_ can kill the White Rabbit for no one else has such power. And if you do," He crossed his legs revealing an air of elegance tinged with venom. "You'll at last have what you most desire."

"A name." Her eyes brightened and smiled. Another girl caught in the woods. Another nameless soul desperate to play this ridiculous game of cat and mouse—more like girl and rabbit. But for the past many years the cat has always failed by ending up being the mouse. He can already smell that she was no different. Just another mouse for the snake to play with before its approaching death.

With a wave of his gesturing hand and gracious curtsy from the shy girl, the guards escorted little mousy Alice the 49th out of the castle and onto her way. The King Cobra sank deeper into the plush velvet of his thrown and in boredom blew from the side of his mouth an unruly bang of auburn brown hair that draped over his mauve eyes. His recently revealing eyes—speckled underneath it with a coupling pair of little hearts— glanced over to his right. He grinned at his archangel.

"Poor soul." He mused as he looked down the carpeted pathway in which Alice took her leave. "Another one bites the dust as they say. It seems they're getting more and more pathetic with each turn, don't you agree? You'd think that damn Rabbit would chooser greater prospects for the one responsible in murdering him."

"Maybe he doesn't want to die as bad as we had thought?" The Queen turned to the one who spoke. A tall grace of a man with blonde hair that fell in a sweeping motion as it covered his right eye looked back at him. A clear hazel eye glimmered in the afternoon sun. His military uniform was stiff and straight as his stance—mirroring his tall collar that stood up straight and stern as he was. But the Queen knew better than that. He saw past the white gloves, the shimmering brass buttons, the spotless uniform and the polished golden hilt of his sword.

"Perhaps." The Queen smiled.

The horses trotted languidly through the woods into towards town. The Queen requested so for he had was in no rush to arrive on time for the ceremony. They would wait for their sovereign.

He watched the knarly branches of the woods swoosh by—blending together into a mash of vegetation. All the while, his ever-watchful Knave watched his movements intently, like a painter studying his object—falling in love with it before he committed to the canvas.

"Why do you think they never last?"

"Hmm?" The Queen turned towards him.

"The Alices. It'll be 50 before we know it. How long will this game last?" The Ace tilted his head.

"The game will last as long till the Rabbit finds one worthy enough to kill him." The Queen answered simply.

"But it seems it won't happen since he's choosing such impudent girls."

"But one day one of those impudent children won't be so anymore. Soon the Rabbit will die and Wonderland will have its Alice."

"And we'll be free of this game too?" The Knave of Hearts said with too much hope. The Queen laughed at his silly companion.

"Since when have you felt so imprisoned, Jack?" The Queen asked humorously. "Is serving me that unbearable?"

"-Never my Majesty!" The Knave interjected. "Serving you is my greatest honor." The Queen continued laughing at his Ace's blushing face. "It's just," Suddenly the Knave's voice grew heavy with sad eyes. " I know your Majesty is growing weary of your own role." The Queen stopped laughing and his smile slowly untwined itself into a frown. "You don't like spilling that color on the floor anymore." He looked up only to find that the Queen had grown tired of the conversation and retired back to his imagination of staring outside the window.

They entered the main town square at the precise time. Hoards of loyalists pushed and shoved to get near the Queen's carriage while the soldiers kept them at bay. Jack didn't hide his dismay as he peeped through the window's shades of the carriage.

"Chin up, my Ace." The Queen smiled as he readjusted his perfectly tilted hat. "It'll only be a short ceremony to welcome the new tower."

"Why, again, did your Majesty commission such a clock tower?" The Knave turned toward the Queen.

"To tell time. To stand as a country's landmark. To be looked up to."

"Is that what Wonderland needs?"

"Wonderland needs an Alice." The Queen answered tiredly. "But after going through almost 50, I don't believe we'll be getting one soon. So till than, this will do." The Queen's words brought no comfort to the Ace. Instead if anything, it made it all the more depressing at what extremes Wonderland needs in order to forget it's current decaying state.

"Now," The Queen brought the Knave out of his daydreaming. "How does us look?" He posed like the handsome devil he knew he was. The Knave couldn't lie that he wasn't a victim of his master's looks as well.

"Like a Queen." The Knave answered. The Queen leaned closer and spoke softer. Lower. Tinged with poison that dripped on each syllable.

"Prove it with a kiss then." He whispered.

The Knave's heart quickened as he leaned in closer. The Queen didn't bother to move an inch in hopes of closing their space. He watched into the hazel eyes of the Knave as his subordinate strained his legs and arched his neck to crane over the Queen. He hovered over the Queen's supple lips; knowing full well to not assume in taking the last step as he waited till the Queen completed the gap. After a moment of pause, the Queen tilted his lips upward to meet the Knave's. The second the Queen's lips touched the Knave's, Jack drew in a deep breath of anticipation.

Though the Queen made the initial move, he allowed his Knave to lead in the kiss. At first his Ace went back and forth, slowly sucking in each lip from top to bottom and bottom to top until a flicker of his tongue silently asked the Queen for entrance. Once obliged, Jack had full access in delving his tongue fully into the Queen. Had the window curtains of the carriage not been drawn and allowed the eyes of the masses to see their Queen in such a state would cause a frenzy of shock. They'd tear open the carriage and pull apart the Ace limb from limb before realizing what he was doing that lead him to such a death.

The feeling of the Queen's tongue dancing, massaging his own caused a slight stir between the Ace's legs because he was imagining what things that tongue in other places. Before the Ace could hint to such a possibility, the Queen pushed him away—breaking him out of the haze of their kiss.

The Knave listened to the roar of the crowd as his Majesty opened his own carriage door and great the great influx of noise that waited him. Step by step he left the carriage with the heaving Knave still slumped in his seat; slowly gripping the armor to brave a crowd that he always hated.

"It's been years since I remember notarizing the plans that would one day solidify and stand as Wonderland's tower today!" A roar of applause answered back with enthusiasm. The Knave already was rubbing his eyes—dreading the headache that will come in due time after this evening. One thing good about the Clock Tower was that it gave him something to check.

**1:34pm**

He looked back at his Majesty and for a moment gave sympathy to the crowd. Though he knew no more disgusting human being than the Queen, he was as handsome and exquisite as he was cruel. Our Jack has seen his master order executions to all forms of life from grave punishments to meaningless boredom. He has killed children, women, soon-to-be mothers, grandfathers, as well as thieves, liars, and gang leaders.

They were all treated with the same cold, unattached mask that his Queen wore so well. Yes, he has indeed seen his Queen commit as well as relish in commit some terrible horrors. But he has also found himself swooning over the same villain despite the knowledge he carried. For some reason he couldn't help but get swept away from his Queen's smooth words, velvet mauve eyes, silken locks that revealed and concealed his face perfectly and his artfully crafted facial structure.

**1:40pm**

It was still true. Even though Jack knew how much venom swam in his master's veins, they proved little to sway his affections from his Queen. Though he couldn't understand why yet he could ponder. He loved his secret kisses. How giddy he would get when approaching every corner, for at each one, a memory of a stolen kiss and more hid behind every one. The Knave loved the duality that clashed within his Queen—this juxtaposition of ice and fire, rage and serenity, confidence and fear. For despite his Majesty's evil doings, there have been moments afterwards where the Knave could have sworn were signs of regret, grief and weariness. Sometimes if the light caught him the right way, Jack could see a civil war rage upon his Queen's face.

But all of these things that caused him to remain forever entranced by his Majesty, what constant notion that he adored the most of his master was the fact that he was the only one to know of such things. No one else could boast of being so close to the monarch than the Knave himself. There was never a King and if there was—the Queen had long beheaded him before the Ace came into being. And if there were a King, he wouldn't gain the privilege of seeing the two sides that the Queen held.

He was the only one and forever shall be the closest to the Queen.

**1:50pm**

"MURDER! MURDER!"

All froze at the sudden scream, which prevailed over the crowd's listening droll. The Queen's speech stopped abruptly—listening to the voice for a second time.

"THERE'S BEEN A MURDER! A YOUNG BOY IS DEAD!"

There was a brief silence. A pause that spanned only a mere second. But within that second, all of Wonderland breathed in before it's frantic scream.

A gunshot was fired full of lethal intentions. The crowd began to shift with energy and fear. The outskirts of the mob were dispersing quickly.

The men on the stage were looking in all directions from where the gunshots were coming from.

Another gunshot rang throughout the air.

The Knave looked as well but only for a brief moment. His objective was only of one person. He made sure to keep the carriage within the corner of his vision but to never dare have his objective leave his sight.

He unsheathed his sword—allowing the steel to sing the volume of potential violence that it carried within it. The soldiers at the base of the stage heard its song and looked up to their Captain. Waiting with bated breath on what to do in such a frenzy.

The Tower rang.

**2:00pm**

"PROTECT THE QUEEN!" He roared.

So that was the first real chapter. I was hoping it really gave the reader a sense of their relationship, their personalities as well as the time period in which they were in. This is taking place before the manga since the manga is about the 89th Alice. Also note that during this period the Knave of Hearts was allowed to talk to the Queen and I want to point out also has both of his eyes. 

I know it's bit of a long one but note not all chapters will be this long. Or maybe-who knows. Now that the ball of plot is in motion, chapter two will be on it's way!

The song lyric noted above is by Crocodiles on their song "Mirrors". A really good song that I think (if you're bored) should listen to. Their lyrics are great and match well to the Knave's thoughts towards the Queen. 

REVIEW REVIEW PLEASE PLEASE! 


	3. Chapter 2: The Queen's Croquet Match

**-Gilded Hearts-**

Chapter II: The Queen's Croquet Match 

_Who you following? Who you starting to move like?_

_Who you falling for? Who you falling for? Whose lies?_

_Who you following? Who you falling for?_

_This sounds on your side. _

_-"The Sweets" Yeah Yeah Yeahs_

The Queen lightly tapped a ball followed by a crowd of applause. He beamed like the sun while his Knave stayed in the shadows with a gun. The shine of the gleaming sword reminded the Queen of dangerous sorts, but it was a comforting reminder that he was safe due to a heart much kinder.

Along the perimeter of the garden, the snake of Satan coiled and danced. And if he ever showed his face, the Queen's Ace would be ready for the chase. The events that unfolded several days ago have rippled into the effects of whispering rumors riddled with fear and doubts. The body of the young man was identified to be a 23 year old handsome youth, bound for a bright future in Wonderland with a pretty girl who worked in a pastry shop and a position as one handsome dentist. What made matters worse was that our 23 year old dentist wasn't the first.

Wonderland had thought the culprit was found and put down—never to hear from again, until the recent murder. Before, Wonderland had dealt with several similar homicide cases that all ended with a dead youth. In April there was the 18 year old son of a school teacher who was found in the woods with a broken neck. At first authorities thought he had climbed the trees and fell to his death but the same happened to another young 27 year old; only this time there were no trees for him to fall from. He was found in Caterpillar Alley. Several weeks later, the Queendom endured three more murders over the course of the month—all victims carried no connection with one another other than their cause of death: a broken neck.

The newspapers already banned together in forming a nickname for the serial killer but none of these stories were ever published in fear the Queen would disband the papers. Because by giving the serial killer a nick name would mean that Wonderland _has_ a serial killer in their midst—and we can't have that. Not when Wonderland was on the brink of their 50th Alice, or when the cost of living has risen exponentially, or the many cases that lead to corruption within the police, the rising numbers of orphaned children and the decaying state of the orphanages, the alarming drug influx centered around Caterpillar Alley and the lack of consideration the monarchy has in cleaning up such messes.

No, if one thing was certain: Wonderland was in no shape to endure the panic of a serial killer. Not when the city was thriving on the excitement of a new tower and the hope of a new Alice.

For now, all that Wonderland can do is play a game of croquet and pretend that nothing out of the usual happened other than a common thief running amuck and snapping necks.

The Queen ordered his own guards to help the Wonderland police in their hunt for the culprit. He assigned Jack to be the monarch's link to the police as well as head of security. After the Tower's Ceremony, Jack has been busy running around with tightening the castle's security, expanding the range of patrols, enlisting more guards to be on watch within Town as well as the woods.

He was beginning to play with the idea of possibly implementing a curfew for the townsfolk when he heard an unusual ringing—marking the presence of an annoying individual.

"Thinking, are we?" Jack could already see the sneer that spoke those words behind him. How the speed of sound slivered through the cracks of his severe grinning teeth like a hiss.

"Something that you're not keen in doing." The Ace retorted back. His listener giggled at the hatred that tainted every one of Jack's words. Jack looked over his shoulder and saw a thin long leg appear from behind a rose bush. Following after it came a body attached;-just as long and lean as the leg that first appeared. The tall body sauntered his way over to Jack but made sure to keep to the shadows. His long silken auburn locks swayed casually in the afternoon breeze every now and then. The intruder placed his hands behind his back; feigning innocence to the Ace.

"Too busy to think." He answered. "Too dangerous. What, with that serial killer out on the loose—''

"There is no serial killer. Just a stupid one who has yet been caught."

"And will you?" The intruder looked over to the other side of the yard, at the cheering crowd and the Queen at the center of it. "Must be hard to balance catching a killer and satisfying the Queen's fickle needs. How can one fully profile a killer when croquet and afternoon tea seem to plague your days?"

"If that's what you believe, cat." Jack languidly sighed. He had grown tired of trying to the best the cat in their game of words long ago. The Ace knew better than to try. He remembered growing frustrated with the tramp once that he fired within the palace walls and ruined one of the Queen's Roman inspired statues.

"_There's many things that the cat can't do. But having the last word isn't one of them. By at least giving him that—even he can sense it is out of pity. He is a pitiful creature." _

Since then the Knave has stood by his Majesty's words. Of course he would know how to properly deal with each one of Wonderland's inhabitants. He turned back to continue watching the dull game. But the stranger wasn't done.

"Sooo," the tall man snuck up close behind the Ace's back. He could feel the heat emitting off the intruder behind him. "Have you picked up any clues? Witnesses? Motives?"

"Nothing yet." The Knave continued watching unmoved. "Though, I know you probably have tons, Cat. Enough to probably close the case." His listener laughed.

"I do see a lot when all refuse to see me."

"Though I doubt you would dare enclose any to the authorities in hopes of helping and saving your fellow countrymen." The Knave looked back over his shoulder to his unwanted guest. The brown eyes sparkled as they tightened to hold in a laugh. They failed. His prowler burst out laughing and struggling to breath.

"My—my-my fellow countrymen!" He wiped a tear. "Ooohhh how I'd do anything and everything for my country. My Wonderland and all the glorious things within it. To keep them safe from harm and live peacefully and properly—'' He retreated back to the shadows of the rose bushes to continue laughing without causing notice of the other guests. The Knave only rolled his eyes at the sarcasm.

"It was foolish of me to think of the possibility that _you_ could be a good and loyal citizen." It was that one word that pricked the cat's ears.

"Loyal." The word rolled out of his tongue like a discarded rug that had got rotten in an attic and nibbled by moths. "Such a foreign word to say and believe in especially in a land like this one.

"Forgive me." The Ace turned with a triumph grin of his own. "To think that a being so free spirited as you would carry enough trust and consideration into another to be _loyal_, Cheshire Cat."

The Cheshire Cat stepped before the Knave, measuring eye to eye with the armed knight. His brown eyes lost their mischievous glimmer and bore a dull sheen of insult upon them.

"Well instruct me in the ways of behind loyal." He tiled his head. "For I am ignorant of the word. Tell me, Knave of Hearts. What's it like to be _loyal_ to the fickle Queen?"

"I will exercise my loyalty to the Queen if you dare attempt to slander him again in front of me."

"Ohhhh" The Cheshire cat mocked. "And tell me what notion of the Queen has inspired such loyalty?"

"If you only knew half of what I know of the Queen, you'd speak differently of the monarchy."

"So it's your vast knowledge that has proven the Queen worthy of your loyalty."

"Trust." The Knave answered simply. "The trust he places upon me and me alone is rewarded with the loyalty I give. The two are interchangeable. Without trust there is no loyalty. And that my old cat, is something that you'll never understand. But how could you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean how could a cat like you, who have been discarded and forgotten as many times as you have slept around. You wander from door to door already preparing to leave the moment you're taken in. No loyalty can foster from such brief encounters. They are gained. A reward from a long period of trust."

"Hmmm." The Cat narrowed his eyes in calculation. "It's funny."

"What's funny?" The Knave sighed tiredly—hoping this conversation will end soon.

"Funny how the pot calls the kettle black."

"Excuse me?" The Ace turned back towards the Cheshire Cat.

"You look down upon me because I'm the perpetual orphan Annie. Used, abused, forgotten and discarded."

"That's one way to look at it."

"But you refuse to look at the big picture."

"Which is?"

The Cheshire cat leaned in.

"You're just the same." He whispered while stepping back. The Knave stared at him. Misunderstanding what the cat meant for it couldn't be what he just said.

"What did you just say?" He furrowed his brows.

"You're not as Absolute as you think, Ace." The cat smiled. The game was back in his favor. "You're not invincible in being discarded and forgotten like the rest of us. One day the Queen will tire of yo—''

"The Queen will never do so! I have always been—''

"And that's where you're wrong, my darling Ace." The cat smiled as he backed away. "You have never _always been_…you are a replacement of _him_ and one day another will replace _you_."

REVIEW REVIEW PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE!

So the story is finally revealed. While the Ace is having to deal with finding a serial killer haunting Wonderland he finds out that he is actually a replacement of someone else that use to be the Ace before him! SHOCK! I wanted to end this chapter off with bit of a cliff hanger. Next chapter you'll see the aftermath of the Cheshire Cat's words and how the Ace deals with them. 

I hope you are all enjoying this story so far. It makes me so so so happy beyond belief when reading your comments. I hope to read more before the third chapter is posted. 

The song featured at the beginning of the chapter is a short song from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs called "The Sweets". I really liked this chorus the best because it deals with the Cheshire Cat's implication that the Queen isn't whom you love and trust. Also the creepy tone that the song has does tie with the Cat's sneaking around. 


	4. Chapter 3: The Joker's Last Laugh

**-Gilded Hearts-**

Chapter III: The Joker's Last Laugh

_These arms are mine,_

_Don't matter who the hold._

_So should I maybe, just leave love alone._

_You call out my name, for the love you need,_

_Which you won't find in me._

_-"Velvet" The Big Pink_

The Ace began to walk through the terraces in the back of the Queen's gardens, stunned and confused to what he had just heard.

_It can't be true._ He began to think. _How can I be a mere copy of another? With everything that the Queen has entrusted me with! The things he has shared with me and me alone—I can't imagine him doing that with anyone else but me. How can he open himself up like that to someone—something that can go away the next day in a flash?_

The Ace looked up. He watched as the Queen smiled in delight as a Joker began making his way towards him with a bouquet of white roses.

_Everything that I prided myself in being the Queen's sole form of comfort and sanctuary—it can't be that it was all a lie. To imagine someone else doing the same thing with the Queen is unimaginable. But if it is true…how many of us Aces were there? Am I just another Alice? Am I just #50 in my Queen's eyes?_

"Why have white roses when you can have…'' The high-pitched voice of the Joker caught the Knave's attention and set his skin on alert. Everything about his body knew before his mind that something was gonna happen. "RED!"

And again, his body was proven correct once more.

The Queen's face froze when he saw the red roses appear before him. They were a deep red. Not a happy one. It was almost as if they were tinged with black. The petals had a velvety hue to them as if they were painted with an insidious liquid.

"Red?" The Queen finally spoke with his bewildered stare. "I…hate…red." The Joker slowly cowered to the ground but it was already too late.

"I hate it!" The Queen grabbed the roses and threw them to the garden floor. Their petals shattered upon contact—scattered upon the thorn-less stems. "I hate red! I hate it! I hate it!" The crowd slowly backed away as the Queen began breathing uncontrollably. His eyes, which were always lidded with serenity were now bulging with madness.

"Your Majesty…" The Joker pleaded but his noise only angered the Queen even more. He began stomping on the roses; arousing more concerned woes from the staring crowd.

"How many times must I say that I. Hate!" The Queen grabbed a sword from a bewildered solider nearby. "Red!"

The Joker turned his eyes and braced himself from the blow but to his surprise the sword never pierced him. He looked up behind his white gloves and saw the point of the sword moments away from his eye. At the hilt of the sword, the Queen's hand and the Knave's on top of it.

The circle of nobles stared at the play before them. Not daring to stir a ripple of movement in fear of causing another outburst from the Queen. The Knave arrived at the ideal moment in hopes of stopping the Queen. He looked brazenly at the monarch unflinchingly where others would cast their shy eyes down. His hazel eyes regained the Queen's composure; allowing him to forget the sinister color that erupted such a passion.

"It's best if your Majesty retires." The Knave said slowly, as if calming a riotous horse with no promise of taming. The Queen dropped the sword. The sound of it clashing upon the heap of roses startled the Queen from his haze. He looked around at the staring eyes.

"What are you looking at!" He snapped. A few eyes lowered in disgrace but most continued staring unabashed. "Show's over!—''

"My Queen!" The Knave hushed. "Please." The Queen huffed and swiftly turned away from his Knave and out of the gardens. His crowd parted the way both in fear and curiosity of their Queen.

* * *

><p>The doors flew open with their raging Queen charging through the bedroom.<p>

"Those filthy lowlife idiots!" He hissed as the Queen ripped off his black hat and threw it upon the Persian rugs. "Staring like a bunch of zombies that they are!"

The Knave followed after him with calmer composure. He turned back and closed the double doors behind them before turning back to retrieve the black hat from the floor.

"You mustn't pay too much mind to them your Majes—''

"Oh!" The Queen snapped at him with the same amount of animosity. "So you're ordering me now what to think!"

"That's not what I meant your Maj—''

"Then spare me Knave!" He snapped. "I can care less of what you think!" The Knave sank back and lowered his eyes to the floor. _It would make sense that he would care little to what I think. I'm probably am just another toy to his Majesty. Unimportant. Replaceable. What caused me to foolishly believe that I could have any influence over him._

Just as the Knave slowly gave up on coaxing his Majesty from his rage, the Queen felt an familiar twinge in his heart. He breathed out the last of his anger and silently skated upon the Persian floor; surprising his Knave with his close presence. The Knave looked up as the Queen lifted his chin with fingers too delicate for such a tyrant.

"You are not the cause that made me angry." The Queen whispered as he traced the sharp lips of the Ace. His mauve eyes noticed at how defined the Knave's cupid bow was that it inspired the Queen to bent down and kiss them. For measure, he kissed the Knave's bottom lip too, for it was as supple and fuller than the top.

Without out further words, the Queen stepped back and undid his long black and red cape. The Knave watched it drop to the floor, releasing the Queen's weight and power. He then began to untie the lace scarf that wrapped a noose around his neck. There were no words that were exchanged as the Queen relinquished each article of clothing, authority and power over his domain. Each piece fell to the floor, pooling at the Queen's feet like broken chains.

When he had slipped off the last of his black briefs, the Queen stood before him, like a Botticelli Venus emerging from the sea. Waiting. Jack took no pause.

He rushed to the Queen and wrapped his arm around the young man's lithe waist before pulling him into his body as their lips clashed feverishly. There was nothing more savage than their kiss. The Knave drank in every breath that the Queen had to offer. When they finally parted, the Ace took up his Queen in his arms and draped him on the bed while he climbed on top of him after kicking off his boots.

Straddling the Queen between his legs, the Knave anxiously began to take off his uniform jacket and shirt. When the Queen knew what he was doing, he sat up and began doing the same with his belt and pants carrying equal fervor. Finally free of the constraints of his uniform jacket and shirt, the Knave grabbed the Queen by the chin and kissed him again with a form of dominance only permitted behind closed doors. The Queen moaned into his mouth, humming sweet vibrations towards the back of his throat that echoed down his body and ending below his hips. He could feel himself getting hard as the Queen took a bold hand and began caressing between his legs.

The Knave licked him up and down. His neck to little playful nibbling at his earlobe, to down the grace of his collarbone—tracing delicate lines along the ridges—his tongue dancing down his chest to engulf the Queen's nipple. He felt his monarch rise and moan with pleasure as he clenched a handful of the Knave's blonde hair—enticing him for more. The Ace did the same, arousing another invigorating response. Below the Queen abandoned the work of his hands as he gave into the torturous pleasures of his Knave's mouth. He grew impatient and selfish; demanding more contact and instant gratification of pleasure. Intuned with each suck that the Knave induced upon the Queen's skin, his Majesty would roll his hips into Jack's.

The Queens's hands followed the bumps that went down his Ace's back to the curve of his ass, pulling Jack's hips and hardness against him. The monarch rolled into the motion once, twice, and then steadily over and over again. They seemed they weren't going to make it. They were going to rub themselves off on each other and it wasn't what the Knave had imagined.

He spread his legs wider, tossed his head back and used his hands to guide the Queen's fingers to his wrists. There was the slightest pressure, and then a little more. He showed him how hard he wanted it as the Queen kept loving his body wherever he could with his mouth and teeth. Finally, it was hard enough to make him cry out.

"Yes!"

Then suddenly the Queen wasn't holding his wrists anymore, and his kisses tapered down to chaste kisses in between long breaths. And when it had seemed like he was going to come too soon, the Knave slivered his hands down the Queen's hips and wrapped his finger around his hardening cock.

"God!" The Queen threw his head back and gripped the sheets.

"Not yet! Not yet." The Knave licked into his ear.

"Hurry the fuck up." The Queen breathed. "I can't much longer."

With that said, the Ace slipped out of his pants quickly and threw them to the floor. He then again grabbed behind the Queen's knees and dragged him down the bed closer to him. The Queen sat up, following his movements of where he needed to go. Jack wrapped a strong arm around his Majesty's waist while the other held still to his hip, directing to slowly push down upon. When the Queen felt the Ace's harden cock run along the inside of his thighs, he opened his legs wider to allow him in. As he felt the Ace plunge deep within him, the Queen gasped and grabbed one of his shoulders but he didn't dare break eye contact.

"Ahh!" The Ace gasped, as he squeezed himself into his Queen.

"Fuck!" The Queen responded as he clenched his eyes. When both knew that the Knave was securely placed within the Queen's being, the Ace wrapped a second arm around his monarch's waist as the brunette began lifting himself from his aid's lap. They began to move in a slow and deliberate rhythm. With the strength in his legs, the Queen would rise his hips up before swinging down.

"Ahhhh." Jack hissed as he squeezed the Queen's ass. The brunette responded by lowering himself further, having the Knave's harden cock fill him up to the brim.

"Nhhh-God…you feel''' The Queen moaned.

"Move more!" Jack hushed.

Soon their rhythm picked up once the Knave began bucking his hips up into the Queen. The canopy that hung above the bed trembled with their movements; swaying with each grind. The Queen raked his fingers through Jack's blonde hair as his Ace buried his mouth into sucking one of his perk nipples. The stimulation caused a cry from the Queen that excited the Knave to begin quickening their pace to an almost uncontrollable speed for their position.

"I need….''' The Queen began but didn't need to finish.

He merely began to lean back and away from the Knave. The unexpected distance caused his Ace to follow after—something that the Queen always expected. He made sure to stay inside of him as the Ace rolled onto the balls of his knees; luring over his Queen between his strong arms. The brunette below began running his hands over Jack's arms like a blind man, memorizing every curve of a muscle.

"Keep moving." The Queen could barely order using stable words. Each syllable was on the brink of being swept away from the pleasure. He brought his legs to curl around the Ace's waist; brining him closer after he pulled out so that he can plunge back in. Jack continued pumping in and out of the Queen when the quick movements made his blood rush more than the caressing cavern within the Queen.

"Ohhh…fuck!" The Queen gasped as the Knave began moving in and out swiftly with great fervor.

The sound of wet skin slapping onto another filled the room until the Queen's voice began to keep in pace with the Knave's hips. Each sound was a quick moan, replaced by another and another—each on growing steadily higher in pitch. The Ace was climaxing along with the Queen's voice.

"Oh fuck!" The Knave gasped. "I'm close—I'm so close!"

"Not yet." The Queen said in between breaths. "Keep riding!"

With that, the Knave arched his back a bit and moved as fast as he could. He felt the Queen's hands pressing flat against his ass. Jack began licking the sweat off the side of the Queen's face, breathing heavily into his ear.

"Uh! I can't much longer!"

"Keep fucking me!" The Queen begged but it was in vain. Jack began feeling the heat swell between his legs. The muscles in the pit of his stomach were starting to contract and tense.

"I'm gonna cum! I'm gonna cum!" The Ace arched his back like a tightly strung bow

"No. No. No. No-Jack!" But it was even too late for the Queen.

"Ahhhhhh!" Jack cried as he released himself into the brunette. He felt the legs around his waist tremble a bit but eventually untangled themselves as they draped either side of him. The blood that had been running through his body felt like it was now at a standstill and boiling till it overcame his entire body making him feel tired and content. He stretched his head back and closed his eyes feeling the last lingering effects of his orgasm until he slowly floated back down to Earth.

The touch of hands caressing his hips brought him back. He looked down to find his Queen below him, chest heaving and glistening in a light coat of sweat that made him glow more than shine. Jack bent down and kissed the Queen. A long and sweet kiss that ended with a short and chaste one upon the monarch's lips. The Queen smiled.

The Knave brushed a tendril of hair to the side of the Queen's dreamy face.

"We haven't done this in a while." The Knave whispered.

"Too long." The Queen answered back too humanly. "I had almost forgotten what it felt like you inside me."

"Than allow me to remind you of another pleasure." The Knave smiled as he began crawling down the Queen's long body, granting a kiss to every patch of glistening skin. The Queen bite the side of his finger while watching his Ace grow further away. He began stroking his blonde hair in admiration.

When he felt the hot breath before the Ace engulfed him, the Queen tilted his head back and moaned. Jack took him whole, his tongue tracing lines along his shaft and he swallowed him up.

"Oh God." The Queen whispered as he slowly, erotically, rolled his hips into Jack's mouth.

The Queen didn't last long as the Ace sucked him off. The hum that vibrated at the back of his throat echoed into the tip of the Queen's cock. To better stir the Queen, the Knave began caressing the brunette's inner thighs.

"Uhh….Jack." The Ace began sucking harder and quickened his pace along his shaft. When he began feeling the Queen buck, he knew how close his monarch was. He knew him well enough, that he had a tendency to start getting impatient towards the end: bucking his hips, slivering his legs across the Knave's back to spur him on.

When his breathing hitched, the Queen began feeling the muscles in his lower stomach contract until he began singing the word _No_ over and over again—each one bringing him closer and closer to completion.

He gave lingering and raspy gasp when he came. His back arched from the bed and his fingers digging into the pillows. The Knave crawled back over him and the Queen—still trying to catch his breath—smiled.

"Thank you for reminding me." He tried to laugh at his own joke but the Knave chuckled with him.

"The guests," The Knave began as the Queen pushed his hair behind his ear.

"Don't bother with them." The Queen answered. "Stop ruining this with the formalities."

"I'm sorry." The Knave truly was. Finally feeling tired, the Knave thought it alright to lay his head down upon the Queen's heaving chest until he was shoved off.

"Get off of me!" The Queen snapped, his breathing still racing. "I'm tired. Last thing I need is to hold you up too."

"I'm sorry my Queen." The Ace lowered his eyes and moved to the furthest side of the bed, like a rejected prostitute. The Queen's voice softened a bit from his recoil.

"_I'm_ supposed to lie upon you." He said as he moved over and gracefully draped his form along the Ace's. Jack held in a chuckle. He began drawing circles along the Queen's soft shoulders. It was these quiet moments that the Ace liked the best between him and the Queen. He couldn't imagine nor believe anyone else sharing these intimate moments with the Queen other than him. _The Cheshire Cat was wrong_, the Ace thought. He only said those words out of spite. Envious that the Ace had something that he'll never have. There was never a substitute.

"Oh, Ace." The Queen lifted his head.

"Yes, your Majesty." The Ace answered contently.

"…Kill the Joker."

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW PLEASE!

What a long chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed it. Very steamy because this is a Romance! It took a long time to write it but I tried to stay diligent in finishing up this chapter. This story has a long way to go—longer than I had imagined so I hope everyone is like it so far! Any constructive critiques especially during the love scenes are welcomed.The time interval in the next installments are gonna be published a bit faster (if I can stick to this promise) because this story is gonna be a packed one! I can't wait till we delve more into the Ace's doubts. But is he right? Was the Cheshire Cat lying? Is all forgotten and forgiven within the Ace's heart? Things arise in the next chapter—not everything is as crystal clear as the Knave thought.

Next chapter: Murky Water

PS: The song mentioned above is one of my favorites by The Big Pink. A great song about criticizing love and swearing to never fall in love again. 


	5. Chapter 4: Murky Waters

**-Gilded Hearts-**

Chapter IV: Murky Water

_And it's desperation to hold on to_

_Something that can't be held on to_

_So, don't waste your time filling up my words_

_Don't tell me why, assume the worst._

_-"Never Win" Fischerspooner_

The room was a cold but circular room. Though the stonewalls were mainly used for underground tunnels, he saw through the slit-like windows that it was barely 5:00.

The guards forced him down upon the white stone floor, though the center was marred with dark stains and deep dent marks. Out of all the spots in the room, why did they make him kneel in this particular dirty spot?

"Pity." The Joker began. "I was very looking forward to an early evening tea." The Ace tugged on his black gloves.

"So not only are you the Queen's aid and bodyguard, you're also the palace's executioner too?"

"At times." The Ace answered, paying barely any attention to the Joker's demented smile.

"Such a busy bee." He joked. When the Ace finished pulling on his gloves he began rounding the Joker.

"Not surprised by this though," The Joke stood straighter—bracing himself from the coming blow. "A Joker at the Court of a fickle Queen is doomed for a beheading." He laughed. "I'm surprised I lasted this long! Haha!"

The Ace pulled out his sword that sang its deadly noise as it scraped the metal of its carrier.

He listened to those words that the Joker said. Should the Ace be thankful that he has lasted this long too? It isn't unusual for lovers to get bored with one another—will the Queen get bored with the Ace? Or will he just wait until he makes a foolish mistake like the Joker? Living the rest of his life walking on eggshells. Is he doing this for the loyalty of his Queen or for the sake of his own life? Loyalty or Life? The two seem to coincide into the same in Wonderland.

"You don't have to put too much back into my bones." The Joker kept going. "hahaha! Get it! Backbone! Hahahahah—''

SSSWWWTCHHHH!

His head toppled to the ground, still wearing that demented laughing smile that the Ace hated so much.

The guards that escorted him in came back to carry the body and scoop up the head. A third brought a hot bucket of water with soap to splash the blood away.

"What a horrible Joker." The first guard remarked as he took a leg.

"All of his jokes sucked."

* * *

><p>"Your Majesty," The mistress bowed. "The Knave of Hearts has returned."<p>

"Let him in." The Queen waved.

The mistress opened the bronze doors revealing the Knave behind them. He stepped into the room to find his Queen immersed in a silver tub over flowering with water and lilies that floated on top of clouds of foam from the soap. His arms dangled at the edges of the bathtub while he propped a foot at the base.

"You may leave us." The Queen directed. The mistress bowed before leaving, turning around only to close the double doors behind her and allowing the Queen alone with his Knave.

"The Joker is taken care of." The Knave finally said.

"Great to hear." The Queen smiled as he drew a knee from underneath the water. "Any famous last words? You know I always like to hear them—or did he scream and cry like the rest of them?"

"He continued what he was known to do: joking."

"Tsk!" The Queen sucked his teeth. "They were all horrible! I never got a single one!" His gesture made the Knave smile. "Probably that's the real reason why I snapped."

"Couldn't take another one?"

"One more I would have beheaded myself!" The Knave chuckled hard enough that he had to cover his mouth with a gloved hand. The Queen watched and smiled, resting his head upon the brim of the tub.

"So…what did he say."

"He mentioned how surprised a Joker lasted so long in the company of a fickle Queen." The Ace took caution in using the word to describe his Queen but the monarch merely smiled.

"Fickle?" He repeated while watching the flowers dance upon the ripples of the water that his legs caused. "Am I a fickle beast?"

"No, your Majesty." There was no pause of hesitation in the Knave's response. The Queen again gave a short laugh at the lie.

"He doesn't matter, my Ace." The Queen continued to stare. "None of them do. They're all pawns in a chess game. Nothing more." The Ace shifted nervously. He didn't like the way his Queen would talk about life in that light. It made him uncomfortable to witness these glimpses of the Queen's insanity.

"Will you be replacing the Joker?" He had to break this silence.

"Wha?" The Queen looked up—broken from his thoughts.

"The Joker." The Ace repeated. "Will you be requesting another one? Hopefully one with more edge."

"Oh no! That won't be needed, my Ace." The Queen was back to his regular self again. "Let's spare this court of comedy. Let him die as the last." He smiled. The Knave placed his hands behind his back and nodded.

He was glad the Queen was in a good mood now after the garden incident. With a fuck in bed, a nice milk bath and a beheading—the Queen was in high spirits. He was curious if he can finally released what has been on his shoulders all afternoon—will the Queen comfort him as he had comforted the Queen.

"I have been troubled of something of late, your Majesty."

"Oh?" The Queen looked at him puzzled. "What of?"

"The Cheshire Cat paid a visit to us this early afternoon."

"That tabby cat!" The Queen snapped. "I told you to kick him out if he ever shows up. Every time he does, he messes something up. Last time he broke a chandelier."

"He didn't break anything today I assure you, your Majesty."

"But he did stir something." The Queen lowered his voice. "I can see it in you. Come out with it."

"Umm…he did say something that has troubled me a bit….Its not about you or Wonderland! It's me."

"You?"

"He reprimanded me for my loyalty to your Majesty."

"Why would he do such a thing? You're my most loyal servant! He's only jealous that he's never been such-"

"He said I wasn't the only one." The Knave said quickly. The Queen was quiet for a moment, replaying the words in his head.

"What do you mean? Of course you're not the only one—the entire country is loyal to me _but _him."

"…my Queen," The Knave looked for the words around the room. "Was there ever a time that you were here and I was not?"

"Of course there was. I was Queen of sometime before you came." He began scrubbing his fingers

"So there was someone else before me?" It was then that the Queen realized where he was going. He stopped scrubbing his nails and looked at the Knave.

"What are you getting at Knave?" He would only use the title "Knave" whenever he was starting to get mad. The Ace thought it best to just say 'forget it' but he had gone this far into the conversation without losing his head, he can't turn back now or it'll forever haunt him.

"Was there another that you had which I replaced? Another guard? Another Ace? Am I just another Alice or Joker-'''

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" The Queen drew his fist deep into the waters. "You dare interrogate me! I will NOT endure more of these ridiculous questions! I will have no more of this conversation!"

Soon enough the only sound that echoed in the bathroom was the splashing of water from the Queen's tantrum. The Knave lowered his eyes both embarrassed and disgraced of his curiosity. But what killed him even more was how his Queen's temperament answered his question. He wasn't the first one. And if he wasn't the first one, then it proves he wasn't the only one.

The Queen watched him silently growing smaller. Even though his questions were irritating and worthless, he couldn't deny that it a slight tinge in his heart occurred seeing his Ace so low. He sighed heavily in defeat.

"No more of this, my Ace."

The Ace looked up and saw the Queen holding out his hand to take. He paused first but then reached to hold his hand.

"It is not wise to dwell on the past in Wonderland much less rumors of the past. " He pulled him closer to the tub.

"Is that what they are? Rumors?" The Queen ignored him.

"Come. I can see from here that you weren't careful enough of stepping out of the way in time when beheading the Joker."

"My Queen, I tried hard to stay clean—''

"We're gonna have to remove your clothes," The Queen tugged on the Ace and the blonde toppled into the capacious silver tub hard. A celebration of water announced his impact into the bath, making both laugh at how half the water spilled over. "….and order you a new uniform."

"Yes, your Majesty." The Knave answered as he placed himself between the Queen's long legs. He leaned back and enjoyed feeling the Queen play with his blonde hair; wetting it and pushing it back from his face.

He enjoyed this quiet moment and allowed it to drown the water lilies and the truth for a short moment.

REVIEW PRETTY PLEASE!

I know it was a short chapter—kinda bit of a pause between the next coming of events. I hope this gave more insight between the Knave and Queen's relationship and how the Queen feels of this mysterious figure that the Ace replaced. Next chapter begins with a new day and a fresh murder! 

Chapter 5: Into Caterpillar Alley


	6. Chapter 5: Into Caterpillar Alley

**-Gilded Hearts-**

Chapter V: Into Caterpillar Alley

_I've stood in a thousand street scenes,_

_Just around the corner from you._

_On the edge of a dream that you have._

_Has anybody ever told you, it's not coming true?_

_Farewell my Black Balloon._

_-The Kills "Black Balloon"_

It was 5:20am when his body was found. The garbage man was doing his normal rounds for a regular Thursday schedule: Kings Crossing, Strawberry Lane, Sharon Road, Providence Road, West Provident Road and Unicorn Lane. Not the best part of town but it was the muck one would hit before hitting the mud of Wonderland. Southern section behind the Clock Tower was known for its authentic food stores that held foreign if not illegal items. The owners all use to be owned by the mob until the Queen's men had them shut down a few years back. Now all the food shops are owned by individual landlords, however; rumor has it they all work for the same man, making the Queen's efforts in vain again.

It was the same neighborhood that the garbage man found many things within the trash bins. He'd find flawed jewelry to take home and polish for his fiancée, lightly used porn magazines, a broken pocket watch that he now keeps with him and every now and then a bag of perihelia that a group of teens must have quickly tossed in fear of incoming police. But this morning, though the garbage man arrived with hopes of what this neighborhood would bring him, a body of a young 29 year old journalist was the last thing that he wanted by the trashcans.

Within minuets of notifying the police, word of a new dead body reached the palace by 6:45am. At first the Queen shouted for waking him up too early then he began shouting that he was notified of this incident too late.

The Knave hurriedly began buckling his belt over his jacket as the guards opened the doors for him to the Throne Room. Already half the court was there along with the Queen who was busy reading statements from the policemen before him.

"Good of you to join us this morning, Knave." The Queen snapped as he ascended the stairs.

"Forgive my, my Que-''

The Queen spared him no mercy as he thrust photographs that the Knave fumbled to catch in midair.

"Catch him up to speed, Captain." An older man with a hard set of eyes and a coarse mustache stepped forward.

"This morning at precisely 5:20am, garbage man Edward Watson pulled up to 34101 Kings Crossing and found the body of 27 year old Fredrick Gray among the trash. Dead with a broken neck though it's not for certain that it's the cause of death."

"How long do you suppose he's been dead?" The Knave asked as he looked at the black and white pictures of the splayed body.

"We are still determining that now. The body has recently been transported to the hospital for examination. We are waiting for clearance from his mother to perform an autopsy."

"What!" The Queen snapped. "What is the old bat waiting for? Perform it now!"

"But, your Majesty, we must follow regulations and rules state that we must have clearance from-''

"I AM the Queen! My clearance overrides all! Her decline or acceptance to the procedure doesn't matter from this point forward. Wonderland cannot withstand having a killer loose among the streets any longer! I want him caught NOW!"

"Yes, your Majesty." The Captain bowed as he moved backwards. "I'll inform the hospital immediately."

"Your Majesty—'' The Knave began.

"WHAT!"

"May I go to the crime scene and see for myself? From where the bodies are being found, they're all popping up around the slums of Wonderland. If we survey this area we may find out clues of the killer if not possible witnesses who are in hiding."

"He is right, your Majesty." The Captain began. "Our detectives believe the slums to be the center point of the happenings. Since each of the victim received a broken neck, we can possibly find what environment they had died it. If they had been moved? Where from? What weapon? How they died exactly?"

"The slum is full of seedy suspects. Any of them have the possibility of seeing or knowing more insight as to what's been happening or who is doing it."

"Or who's an accomplice to it." The Captain added. The Queen thought a moment before he finally made his mind.

"Fine! From now on, you're to work closely with the police department on this. Go to the scene and see if you can draw up any clues or possible suspects. At the end of the day, report back to me." The Knave bowed.

* * *

><p>The Captain rode with the Knave into town where the crime scene continued to be investigated.<p>

"This marks the thirteenth death if I am right." The Captain said as he stared out the window.

"Too many." The Knave responded.

"What's funny is that it took the Queen thirteen deaths to make him realize the level of severity of the situation."

"I wouldn't call it wise to insult the Queen in front of her aid, Captain."

"Forgive me, Sir. It's just that I fear the lack of monarchal support may have be a substantial cause to how we find ourselves with another body."

"Well the Queen thought it was a case that you, the police were able to manage. Luckily for you now, this morning's murder has alerted the Queen that even the police have their limits." The Captain bit his tongue and gave up fueling more gas to the fire.

"We are here."

* * *

><p>By the time the Knave and Captain reached the scene, a mob full of journalists crowded behind the yellow tape. As they saw the two approach, all of them swarmed like flies, buzzing with questions. The Captain mumbled into the Knave's ear to ignore their pestering and continue on beyond the tape.<p>

When they crossed the boundary between the city and the crime scene, all was quiet. Many tread softly on the ground in case they damage the scene while most were squatting taking pictures and notes of countless of details. The Knave noticed how little amount of yellow planks were placed on the ground.

"I see you have found many clues around this scene."

"Only proves that he wasn't killed here." The Captain followed the Knave. "If he did there would be more things for us to pick up on and take as evidence. So far there has been about nothing but his wallet and a Hartford Dictionary."

"A dictionary?" The Knave looked back.

"Yes. He was a journalist but his associates noted how he always carried with him a Hartford Dictionary in his breast pocket to correct any misspelled words or phrases."

"A bit of a bookworm was he."

"With a stick up his ass, from what I hear. His coworkers said he was a real son of a bitch when it comes to correcting people's grammar and spelling. That was his job really at the newspaper. He was a proofreader."

The Knave came upon the chalked outline of the body. It mirrored the same position of the body in the photograph. The Knave looked at the trashcans and noticed a large dent at the top of one of them-as if smashed from above.

"You say that it's probable that he wasn't killed at this spot, right?"

"I'm starting to believe that more and more, yes."

"Then," The Knave looked up above. "Do you think a drop from that building could be possible?"

"What are you getting at?"

"The trashcans looked like they were hit—probably from the impact of his body."

"The Killer probably tossed him into the trash before leaving the scene."

"If he did than they would have collapsed like bowling pins. Only one of them fell and you can see a large dent from the top of the bin—not the side." The Captain walked to the Knave's side and followed his line of direction.

"You think he was pushed? From above?"

"I think we need to take this investigation to new heights."

"…you think James Bond puns are necessary for a time like this, Sir?" The Captain responded. The Knave suppressed a smile.

"He always completed the mission, right Captain?"

* * *

><p>The city of Wonderland stretched out beyond both the Knave's and Captains feet till the blurred horizon. Its landscape was like a crooked mouth of overwhelming broken teeth across the sky. The Knave inched closer to the edge of the building and looked down into the alley he had just been staring up from.<p>

"It was here." The Knave established. "Here was where he fell and landed."

"From a fall of this height he could have been alive and—''

"—died on the way down."

"Broke his neck." The Captain paused before his epiphany. "They _all_ fell. That's how he killed them. Just by pushing them down."

"Have all of them died near a tall story building?"

"If my memory proves right, yes. I can double check so."

"I thought that too but what keeps me believing is, can the killer possibly execute each death so that they _all_ fall down with a broken neck?"

"We need to re-examine each location of the deaths to verify this connecting thread."

"If we find out how he kills them then we can predict his next move. Till then I want the slums of Wonderland patrolled heavily—including the rooftops as well."

"Yes, Sir."

"I must depart to gather more information."

"Where will you go?" The Captain followed after the Knave as the Ace turned away.

"I know of someone who has many connections into this side of town. Wonderland is not only the killer's playground but also his witness. It'll be wise to start listening to what she has to say."

* * *

><p>The Knave carried a new step in his walk. Now after what seemed months of dead silence, the case can finally see a hope of progress. The Knave carried a hunch that the killer carried a formula of killing his victims, and that gravity and height were his two central components, but he couldn't believe that one man alone can do such a thing.<p>

There were still so many questions that needed answering. Were the victims passed out when he pushed them over? Were they gagged and bound? Were they willing or did they put up a fight? Was there even a motive that set this insane pattern? What connected each of the victims? And how did their connection cause them to fall to their death?

The Ace was limited with the materials he was given and he can only hope that the medical examinations would give more light to his doubts. Till then while the police handled their area of expertise, the Ace thought of different methods that were off the set of guidelines.

"Confident are we?"

The Ace stopped in his tracks, finally realizing that his suspicions that he was being followed were correct.

"Go away, Cheshire Cat." The Knave continued walking.

"A little bird told me that you and the police are working hard on this case. Finally putting on your thinking caps." The Cat appeared beside the Knave, walking in step with him as he carried a smile in his face.

"No help from you." The Knave snorted.

"So you go to another for help I see?" The Knave stopped, amused that the Cat had already figured out his plan.

"How did you know I was looking for him?" The Knave turned.

"Who else would you turn to that lived in this direction?" The cat opened his arms; feigning innocence.

"If you know everything so well, then you'll know where exactly I'll find him." The Knave smiled.

"Aww, my darling Ace." The Cat sauntered closer till he was nose to nose to the Knave.

"It saddens me that you only use our friendship for information, when we can explore it in different ways." The Cheshire Cat immediately snuck in a quick lick; flickering his playful tongue up the Knave's lips.

"ghaa!" The Knave turned away and wiped his mouth. "If you won't help me then leave me!" He turned and stormed off. The cat only chuckled at the Knave's behavior before tottering after him.

"But I thought I was helping you."

"Annoying me is not helping. You're only slowing me down!"

"So have you thought more to what I said the other day?" The Knave stopped and turned toward the cat.

"The Substitute."

"_You're_ the substitute, Ace." The Knave cringed at the Cat's blunt words.

"I talked it over with the Queen about it."

"Oh?" The Cat stepped back in surprised. "And what did his Highness say on the matter?"

"He said nothing about it!" The Knave furrowed his brows. "He didn't even attempt to lie. He just got angry at me and forbid me for ever bringing the subject up again." He looked up at the Cat who seemed to have been listening intently.

"Nothing that I don't expect his Majesty to respond…so you venture into the dark alleys of Wonderland in search for him for answers?"

"Why should I investigate more on this matter?" The Knave sneered. "One, I have a murder case that's been left open for several months. And two, why should I waste my time finding truth on a subject that brings pain to both me and my Queen—''

"Pain?" The Cheshire Cat crossed his long arms and began scratching his chin. "Why would such a thing cause you pain? The reason of your existence—''

"He is NOT the reason for my existence!" The Knave snapped and continued on walking while the Cat watched him; taken aback from the Ace's personal reaction to the notion.

The Cheshire cat continued watching the Knave walk down the sidewalk, preparing to cross a wide street into the ominous alleyway that laid before him. He pondered if he should let him continue walking—drop the situation and have him concentrate more on the killings than on the past. Would he be better off not knowing more of the story? Continue living a life of blind innocence and ignorance? Surely so many have suffered learning the true stories of Wonderland—should the Cheshire cat be merciful and let his Ace continue walking in the dark. But then he realized what drove him to tell the Knave in the first place—the importance of knowing you came before you on your journey. Maybe then, he wouldn't fail what's to come next.

"Knave!" The Cheshire Cat called. He saw the Ace turn around not before giving an exaggerated sigh of annoyance. "He's at The Teapot tonight. Find him there."

The Knave gave no sign of 'thank you' to the Cat's help or acknowledgement but the pet knew he'll follow his lead nonetheless. For a moment the Cat felt a pain of guilt to what he knew will set off into a series of unfortunate events for the pure Knave. He thought maybe it would have been best to not have told the Ace of the location, the story of the one before him but then the Cat smiled and thought before turning away back to his master.

_Everyone deserves to suffer their own woes and horrors in Wonderland. _

REVIEW REVIEW PRETTY PLEASE!

Thank you so much for reading. I am sorry if this chapter was a bit too CSI-ish. But I tried to make it flow quickly by relying a lot on dialogue as oppose to wordy descriptions. This chapter was to mainly focus mostly on the crime at hand—not the personal struggle of the Knave though it's hinted at the end of this chapter. Next chapter will focus more on the Knave's questions about his purpose in Wonderland and who he replaced while also introducing another famous literary character. 

Next Chapter: The Teapot Scandal 

(I really liked this chapter because according to my American History, there actually was such a scandal called The Teapot Scandal—same name but totally different)

_PLEASE REVIEW!_


	7. Chapter 6: The Teapot Scandal

**-Gilded Hearts-**

Chapter VI: The Teapot Scandal

_Mondays is for drinking to the seldom seen kid…_

_There's this whispering of jokers doing "Flesh by the Pond"_

_To a chorus of supposes from the little town whores_

_There'll be twisted karaoke at the Aniseed Lounge_

_And I'd bring you further roses but it does you no good._

_-"Grounds for Divorce" Elbow_

The Cheshire Cat's words were not a lie. The moment the Ace walked into the toilet of a place called The Teapot Bar, he knew he had come to the right location. It was a dive of a bar, hidden within Caterpillar Alley. In the past when the mob use to run the streets, this place was a definite hotspot where the leaders of the gang would get together and conspire of their next plans. Now after the fall of the mob family, the bar has been demoted to becoming a sad haven for the fallen and lost. It was always open; knowing full well there will always be somebody in search for a drink.

When one entered the Teapot Bar, one had to descend. Its entrance was a single door that opened the customer up to a lower floor where the stairs were the only way to get down. A large semi circle bar took up most of the floor; constructed out of smooth wood—not sanded down on purpose but eroded from the hands of customers over time. Radiating from the bar, like the sun of the solar system, were small tables scattered throughout the rest of the floor. It was hard for the newcomer to see for he was still standing high atop the stairs, only looking down upon a haze of cigarette smoke. The Knave smelled more than just cigarettes. The Teapot Bar, though stripped of its criminal clientele, still carried items of its scandalous past.

The Knave descended into the fog of smoke where the bartender caught him in his eye.

"Can I help you? You lost?" He folded his hairy arms on the wooded counter; staring the royal uniform down.

"No." The Knave kept his confidence. "I am looking for someone."

"People here don't come into this bar to be found." He answered. The Knave continued scanning the bar in search for that familiar face.

"Excuse me." The Knave nodded when he found one of the hiding. In the dark, the Ace meandered his way over to the other side of the bar; hidden in the far corner where the shadows were at its darkest. At the last stool sat a man hunched over the counter staring at himself through his half filled glass of whiskey—as if trying to remember what brought him here to begin with. Without saying a word the Knave merely sat next to him and began removing his gloves.

"I was wondering what took you so long to finally come to me." The stranger finally spoke in a gruff voice, made rough with the years of booze and smoke abuse. He swirled the last of his drink before draining it till the ice cubes rattled together.

"If you had been expecting to be asked in hopes of this investigation, why didn't you come to the station before?" The Knave waved at the bartender for him to fill up the man's glass for him. The gruff man eyed the Knave before giving up on the idea of resisting his bribery. With a thumb and forefinger, his fingers traced the slight goatee he had ringing around his mouth.

"Because…" The man watched as the bartender filled the glass to the brim; waiting for him to leave. "I know I would be no use to you."

"And why is that?"

"Everyone I know is either dead or in prison along with everything I knew." He took another slug from the glass.

"You can't be so sure." The Knave smiled as he watched the reflections of the glass.

"I can." The man answered. "I put them there." The smile that the Knave wore in hopes of easing the tension faded away; knowing that it was in vain. He drummed his fingers nervously on the counter.

"So you've got nothing on this killer?"

"This one is a new one." The man coughed before continuing. "He doesn't belong with the relics of Wonderland's past and that's the only information I know nowadays." He ran his fingers through a full head of graying hair.

"The past is a dangerous thing to set oneself on." The Knave began. "You might drown in it." The man laughed and held up his glass.

"If it tastes as good as this, then I don't mind." He took another drink before slapping his hand on the counter. "Sorry I can't help you, Aceman. I really hope you catch the bugger. I do."

The Knave sat up as if to leave but he stopped from turning. The man noticed the Knave's hesitation.

"Got another question?" He drawled out reluctantly. The Ace sat back down again.

"On another subject." The Knave turned towards him, his eyes tracing the man's profile. "A more personal one."

"Personal?" The man turned towards him with worried black eyes; slightly glazed over with too much whiskey.

"Since you're so apt in the past, maybe you can help me with mine."

"Ohhhhhh." The man smiled before turning back into staring ahead. "You're treading in dangerous waters, Knave."

"Not my past, but…I want to know the man who-''

"I know who you mean…" The man turned back and smiled. He looked past the Knave and began nodding as if remembering a past much better than the present. "You speak of the one before you."

"The first Knave of Hearts." The man saw a sense of desperation within the Knave's hazel eyes.

It made him a bit giddy of such control. It took him back to the old days when he had all the power of knowledge in the world and exploited it till it was all gone. Now his life has become the outcome of using such knowledge. Spending it till the last drop was gone. Thirsting for more to hold onto, the man now found himself a dried up and hollow thing of the past—with no place for the future ahead. His past was all locked up now. Gnawing at the bars that he had helped the police place.

He was a stool pigeon. A traitor and a snitch. Too bad no one else knew how heavy the burden of guilt weighed on his old soul because now he was offered to do it again.

"No." The man shook his head. "No good will come of it. It's best to keep the past in the past."

"Please—''

"You've got a good thing going, Knave. Ignorance is bliss and once you lose it…it's gone."

"Dormouse."

The one called Dormouse looked at the Knave. It's been a while since he heard it. Usually a person like him keeps to places where no one knows your name.

"Please, I need this." The Dormouse looked at him nervously and then back to his drink; reminding him that it'll always be there after this.

"Something went wrong." The Dormouse began. Remembering shadows through a fog—he was piecing together the past left untold. "No one never knew what. A fight. A mistake…I…Whatever did happen, the Queen did not forgive—and you know the Queen! He adored that sucker, so….whatever he did do, it must have been terrible." The Dormouse again looked into space, dazed and bored with the world around him. Almost like a seer, he was losing grips of the present and trying to peer into another dimension that showed more than his own.

"What happened to him?" The Knave begged.

"He was trashed. Rejected. Forgotten and never seen again."

"So he killed him—''

"Not exactly!" The Dormouse held a finger with a cheeky smile. "You see…there was no execution."

"So he's not dead? How can that be?"

"I don't know the Queen much but…I can't picture him having the heart to kill that son of a bitch."

_So he's alive? Two Knaves walking around Wonderland…is that even possible?_

"Where is he?" The Knave was becoming greedy with the answers. The Dormouse's bored expression was beginning to become too apparent. He thought for a while as he again ran his fingers through his dapple grey hair.

"I…"

"POLICE! EVERYBODY FREEZE! NOBODY MOVE!"

The Knave snapped to the entrance and found a police raid about to storm through the doors. The customers were almost all gone—hustling around like frantic animals to all forms of exits.

_Shit! A drug raid! Perfect fucking timing. _

"Dormouse!" The Knave reached behind him but turned. "Stay with—''

He turned around to only find the Dormouse long gone. Vanished without a trace…

That was a lie. The Knave saw that he made sure he'd drink the last of his Whiskey.

REVIEW PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON TOP!

It was fun writing this chapter. I really liked portraying the Dormouse's character. I hope it wasn't too obvious who "the man" was. Originally I wanted it to be a mystery until revealed at the very end. I hope I stayed well to the manga's portrayal. So this chapter was a bit more exciting I hope. The Knave learned more of the one before him but obviously not enough—totally gonna haunt him in chapters to come. But we know that the man before him was adored by the Queen, so that's gonna make the Knave jealous it not doubtful of the Queen's trust in him. Next time we'll see another famous Wonderland character in a chapter where the case comes to a close and the line of who to trust becomes blurred where corruption continues to rule the streets of Wonderland!

Next chapter: The Tweedles 

Please leave a review! 


	8. Chapter 7: The Tweedles

**-Gilded Hearts-**

Chapter VII: The Tweedles

_Get straight, wait here while I try to find the exit sign._

_When will you stop asking strangers,_

_No one wants what we want_

_Keep one eye on the door, keep one eye on the bag_

_Never expect to be sure._

_You're working for the police and the private, the pilots and the pirates_

_Fingerprinted waiting for the train._

_The doctor, the writer, the hairdresser_

_Felt up and fingerprinted waiting for the train_

_-Metric "The Police and the Private"_

"FOOL!" The Queen shouted as he began ringing the fabric that fell around his cloak! "WHAT IDIOT IMPULSE BROUGHT YOU TO GO TO THE TEAPOT BAR!"

"Forgive me, your Majesty." The Knave mumbled as he kept his head bowed to the ground. "I only wanted more information."

"So you go to the Teapot!"

"There was an informant there that had helped with the police before on separate cases." The Queen stopped pacing and motioned with his arms of _anything else?_

"And?"

"…He did not know of-''

"Of course he didn't know!" The Queen threw his arms down. "Useless! Just useless! All your actions were pathetic attempts that brought nothing to fruitation!" The Queen climbed atop his throne in defeat, not putting the Knave at ease from his knelling.

"…again I apologize to your Majesty for my insolence on acting without your permission."

"Whatever, Knave." The Queen began rubbing his eyes from a possible headache. It was a headache to wait for the Knave to return to the palace with any news from the crime scene. Over 9 hours gone and he had not once brought forth at least a messenger on his findings. Instead after waiting up for him for most of the night (though the Queen was having trouble sleeping after having too much sugared tea) the Queen was again woken up early in the morning with the news that the police had raided a bar with ample amount of illegal drugs and that the Knave was held under arrest for suspicion of association.

The Knave said he was innocent and explained he was there at the wrong place at the wrong time. It wasn't until the Queen's word that he was released. Of course the monarch didn't believe that his most esteem servant was a drug addict like the unfortunates at the bar. What angered him was that he was beginning to stray away without the Queen's permission. Acting on his own. And something told the Queen that he was there for personal interests and not for the Queen's.

"I should punish you, you know. Have you go without food or water for a few days but unfortunately Wonderland needs all the help she can get for catching this mongrel and I still want you to work closely with the police."

"Yes, your Majesty." The Knave bowed.

"You're to be working with a detective in charge of the case through the police. He's in charge of the entire findings and planning on the case, which will give you ample amount of information to access and report back with. You'll meet him at the entrance hall—he's waiting to escort you back to his offices."

"Thank you, your Majesty."

"You may go." The Knave gave another gracious bow before turning to leave the throne room.

"And remember, Knave of Hearts," The Ace turned around. "your purpose is to obey _every_ order I command and _me _alone."

* * *

><p>The detective's full name was unknown but the Ace was told to call him by what the rest of Wonderland calls him and that was Detective Tweedledee. He wasn't anywhere near the age of a senior but he had the experience of one. Boasting with the number of cracking 45 cases, Detective Tweedledee was the country's most revered Detective…unfortunately, he wasn't the nicest. The Ace noticed this when he approached the Detective and the young man hacked up a disgusting cough and told him that he was making him late.<p>

The moment they reached the outside Detective Tweedledee lit a cigarette.

"Fucking straight lace redcoats told me to snuff mines out." The Detective mumbled as he spoke with the cigarette in his mouth; fumbling for a lighter. "Hate these hoity toity nonsmoking joints."

The Ace got a better look of him in the sunlight. He was a little shorter than the Ace but his white long trench coat gave him whatever build and height he may have been lacking physically. Too lazy to zip up the jacket and button all the buttons, the Detective just merely tied the white belt in a knot at his waist; revealing black pants and a black v-neck of a sweater underneath. He wore a white newsboy cap that shadowed his true brown eyes and preeminently furrowed brows. His hair was a dark brown as his bangs hung over his eyes further shadowing his face from the world—like a protective mask.

When the carriage pulled up to take the two to town, that's when the Ace finally spoke to the cantankerous Detective.

"So my Queen informs me you are the one heading the case."

"Hmm." He merely replied in acknowledgement.

"I was at the scene of the last murder that morning and I didn't see you there."

"That's because I arrived and left before you came. I saw and noted all that was needed."

"Did the commissioner inform you of _our_ findings?"

"_Your _findings?" Tweedle rose an eyebrow.

"That the killer may have a pattern in his killings: he takes his victims at the top of buildings before pushing them off and-''

"Breaking their neck. Yeah I know that bit already. Had that brainstorming in my mind after the third murder. Nothing new to the table." The Ace sat silently for a moment.

"If it was nothing new to you, then why did the Police Captain not know of it?"

"Because that old man is as thick as a piece of wood. They all are. That's why this case has gone on for so long because a bunch of idiots run it."

"Keeping information to yourself is not just a stupid move but also against the moral ethics of your department—''

"Look pretty boy," The Detective leaned in a little too close to the Ace and too fast for him to grip his sword in time. "The only reason why I'm stuck having to play with you this afternoon is because the Queen forced me to stop all my work in solving this case so you can play catch-up or I would be forced to give up my badge if I don't follow through. So, with my badge on the line—I'm willing to play teacher for the day but I need you to keep your mouth in line and _not_ bite the hand that feeds you. We got an understanding, Jacky boy?"

The Ace sunk back into his seat and crossed his arms. There was really nothing else to do. He found it immature to use his royal authority to suppress the Detective's asshole attitude, so he found a spot in the window outside and concentrated on that the whole way through into town.

* * *

><p>"Alright." Tweedle began as he began slamming open doors through the police department corridors that they went through. "So listen up Ace, I'm only gonna go through things once and only once. I will not repeat. I will not explain further than I need to. This department is housing close to sixteen bodies over this case and last thing we need is some prick slowing us down. I'm gonna go through the autopsy reports, victim identifications, times, places, suspects, profiles and theories. <em>Not <em>in that order. Clear?"

The Ace noticed that through each door, Tweedledee spoke louder as if sounding his presence to the rest of the building to not get in his way. The fact that the Ace saw people walk into the corridors and walk back out immediately only supported this theory.

_Just like walking with the Queen. _

"I said _Clear_."

"Yes, Detective." The Ace responded quickly, not hiding the fact that he was rolling his eyes at the Detective's arrogance.

* * *

><p>They entered Tweedledee's office. A mess of a room with very little light but lots of writing and photos stuck to the walls with thumbtacks post-its and news clippings. Some even overlapping the Detective's framed plaques and awards in previous works.<p>

"So let me just give you a rundown—instead of going through each of the sixteen bodies, I'll just give you the gist of it all. A bit of a conclusion as to where I'm at with this case."

"That is fine." The Ace stood beside him, staring at a wall that was the most organized. In neat little rows were black and white photos of the same size displaying the smiling faces of the now deceased victims. Seeing them all smile back and in a row grew a chill that ran up the Ace's arms. _Has it really gone to this many victims? Who is doing this and why?_

"So far there is no discrimination. The killer has killed all over the age spectrum. From 18 being the youngest to 68 as the oldest. No sense of bias. They're all from different class, different backgrounds and none of them know the other. We have checked their friends and family and still no connecting thread to any of them. They don't know the same people and the people that they know don't know any other victims. It's all random."

"Do you think that maybe they were plucked from the same location?" The Ace shrugged. Tweedledee turned heel facing the Ace with arms crossed and an insulted look upon his face.

"Yes!" He snapped. "I have thought of that…But some are different. Victim number four: Allison Bridges was last scene at her work—a pastry shop off of Maplecrest Drive and never returned home to her husband a few blocks away on Providence. Whereas victim number seven: Daniel Cummings: a publisher for the Boxing Publishing House, lived on the other side of town off of Gryphon Place. His roommates saw him leave to go camping out in the woods Friday morning and later showed up with his neck snapped in two—''

"In the slums. They've all been found in the same area of Wonderland—''

"Yeah." Tweedledee snapped again. "We know _that_ already…moving on."

"Sorry."

"…Can I—''

"Oh yes—''

"Fucks sake." The Detective mumbled causing the Ace to again roll his eyes. "So anyway. There is no discrimination in the killings. And with no discrimination it makes its unlikely that there is no personal intent within each murder."

"No personal intent?" The Ace was perplexed. "So you mean…he's killing randomly for the hell of it?"

"Look, there is no connection between the victims so it's unlikely that there is a connection between him and the victims—''

"There is a connection between the victims—they were all killed by the same killer!" The Ace tried to laugh at the audacity of the notion for it was too far fetched that the Detective even believed in such a thing. "You can't be serious."

"I am more than serious, Jack. What we were dealing with is a deranged killer who took people at random and threw them down high buildings. No rope. All broken necks. No accomplices."

"…_were_?" Jack turned while Tweedledee smiled.

"All clues point to one suspect. We already have him in custody—''

"Wait! What are you saying?...that you have caught the killer already?"

"I'm saying that you have found nothing that I already didn't know before, Jack. It's been weeks that I've been brainstorming of this one suspect and now that I have found the evidence against him for his arrest, a fair trial will finally silent this matter—''

"Who is it? What evidence do you have against this citizen?" Tweedledee sighed and smiled. Something about it seemed wrong. A gut feeling. The Knave couldn't believe that within the same day that he has finally learned all of this was the same day the killer would be caught. Something wasn't right.

"I know it may come a bit of a shock to you seeing that it all seems too recent but how long have you been on this case, Knave? How long has the Queen been involved within this file?"

"About—''

"About what—three weeks?" Tweedledee went to his desk and leaned against its edge. "I have been on this case for the past three months—for as long as the first victim has appeared. Three months is almost a whole season, yah know. This summer hasn't been a good one for Wonderland. It may have past you by but for me—it's been a long shitty summer for me! I don't see you staring at these photos everyday for the past three months—have you? No! You've been on your fucking ass with his Majesty doing nothing about—''

"You're crossing the line, Tweedle." The Knave finally spoke and reached for the hilt of his sword. The Detective caught the shine of the sword's blade from the hilt, begging to make its début before the Detective and hopefully within him as well.

"And you're crossing lines for questioning my hard work, Knave." After a long pause the Knave finally released his grip upon the sword.

"So…you brought me here, lectured me only to tell me it's all over." Tweedle kicked away from the desk and walked towards the Knave.

"It wasn't my idea for you to come anyway."

"Oh right. I remember…" The Knave said sarcastically. He turned to look back at the photos of the victims. So many faces gone. "So who was it? What made him do it? Or more importantly what makes you _think_ he did it?"

Tweedledee cocked his head mockingly and stared at the Knave.

"Why don't you wait till the newspapers print the story? You'll only need to wait till the next morning till its finally revealed."

"You made me come all this way and you won't even tell me the name of the killer."

"Like I said before, Jack, it wasn't my idea for you to come."

"So I have a feeling that even using force won't make you confide in me for the sake of the crown?"

"I've been working on this case for over three months. Three months my life has been nothing but the constant number of broken bodies. You and the crown have only given a damn for the past few weeks. I think I have the right to enjoy this case's ending the way I desire it to end…'' The Ace realized how Tweedledee had a point. He couldn't imagine having to face these smiling faces everyday, knowing that they would never smile again. With a momentary pause of silence, the Knave began backing out of the office.

"And what will I tell his Majesty for my lack of a report?" He added while he began walking out.

"You can tell our Queen it was bloody Santa Claus, for all I care." Tweedledee leaned back against his desk again, crossing his arms. The Knave saw he didn't care but it didn't matter anymore. It was never in his authority to care.

"I see." The Knave reached for the door.

It was all over. This summer of death is finally at its end. The Knave tried to focus on that one notion to bypass not only the anger of wasting his time with Tweedledee, but also the lingering feeling in the pit of his stomach. That same feeling that maybe you've forgotten something at home that you should have brought. Or left the stove on instead of turning off. It was a pest of a feeling that wouldn't shake from the Knave.

"Well my Majesty and I look forward to that front page." The Knave finally said before leaving the office; closing the door behind him.

Tweedledee said nothing and continued watching his closed door, listening to the Knave's footfalls—counting them. He didn't move when he heard his closet door creak open behind him and a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders. A head leaned on one of his shoulders, close to his ear where he could feel the person's breath up it.

"You think he believed it?" The person finally spoke. Still staring at the door, Tweedledee nodded.

"We crossed our T's and dotted our I's. No one will be able to see the truth behind the story we've made."

"But you're still so tense, brother." Tweedledee sighed before turning to face his guest. Staring back at him was his own face. True brown eyes, a too youthful face, brown hair that fell from a white newsboy cap similar to his but cocked to another side. Only difference from his own face was that the guest held a more optimistic charm about him as oppose to Tweedledee.

"Nothings definite yet."

"It must. If we don't please _him_ who knows which one of us will find the other with a—''

"That's enough, Tweedledum." The twin named Tweedledum still smiled even though he was scared. Scared of the Knave. Scared for his brother. Scared of the one behind all of this. Tweedledee could see past Tweedledum's smile.

"If we keep to the plan, there's no reason to worry about _that_." Tweedledee wrapped his arms around his twin brother and pressed his forehead to a face of his own. Tweedledum closed his eyes and breathed in whatever relief circulated within the room.

There was very little that day.

REVIEW PLEASE! REVIEW PLEASE!

Another chapter introducing Tweedledee and Tweedledum. I know the two were never seen within the manga but according to the series Wiki, the characters are featured within the story that the manga originates from. I really tried to create Tweedledee as a bit of a grumpy, jaded, hardass of a detective but I'm worried I may have over did it a bit. Also his actual personality (if he shows up in the manga) may not match the one that I have portrayed within this story. So please excuse me if such mistakes are made. Again sorry if this chapter was a bit too Criminal Minds-like. I just wanted this murder case to be convincing. Hopefully more romance will play later into this story! 

Next time, The Knave goes to visit another source on the matter after the papers proclaim that the killer was captured!

Next Chapter: The Fish Footman

Please leave a review on this chapter. 


	9. Chapter 8: The Fish Footman

**-Gilded Hearts-**

Chapter VIII: The Fish Footman

_Lost and down so fragile inside._

_Today's the last but not the right one,_

_I'm looking at a picture of someone he had become._

_If you wanna take advantage of him then you know where to go_

_As long as you bring your bible you're secure. _

_-The Sounds "Dorchester Hotel"_

**Sources say that they've seen this same person around all pointed areas within Wonderland not long after the disappearances. Having always been a quiet person, The Dodo has made very little friends to speak on his behave. The Duchess is one of the witnesses that the Defense relies on in hopes of the Dodo's story. The scheduled trial for the Dodo being the true killer that has terrorized Wonderland will begin this month on the 24****th****. Till then, the Dodo remains in the custody of Wonderland's police where he is under arrest for the sixteen murders that have occurred this past summer. **

The Queen turned the page languidly and was discouraged in reading another full page of tiny Roman font repeating the same thing over and over again. He sighed as he continued lying on his stomach, draped across his bed and tangled in sheets. Slowly, he would brush his legs past one another as they swayed in the air carelessly. The shuffling of clothes caught his attention.

"Do you believe this?" He turned the newspaper back to its front page. The Knave, whom he was talking to, looked up as he shuffled into his pants. The title: **WONDERLAND'S KILLER HAS BEEN FOUND! **took up most of the page. The Knave smiled.

"He told me reading the story would make me believe, but it made me more surprised than ever." The Ace began zipping up his pants while the Queen watched.

"I don't believe it but if it makes the killings stop, I'll behead anyone for it."

"You believe the trial will define him guilty—''

"I know they will. Everyone is itching to close this case that they'll even sentence an old Grandmother just so everyone is at ease again." The Queen crossed his arms and laid his head down upon them while still facing The Knave dressing. "Put your shirt on last."

The Knave stopped and dropped his white shirt. Instead he began lacing up his boots, allowing the Queen all the view that he demanded.

"I want you to go to The Duchess and inquire what's her plan in hopes of saving the Dodo."

"The Duchess?" The Knave began buckling his sword.

"The paper noted that she would be a witness used to defend The Dodo's case. I want to know her stance on this whole situation."

"You think she'll be a threat to the court sentencing the Dodo."

"I don't care of the Dodo, I want to know what's going in that little head of hers." The Knave nodded.

"Yes, my Queen." The Queen continued watching until, like a moment of inspiration of a muse's presence, picked his head up again. "Better yet—stop dressing and take it all off. I want to have you again before the maids come in for breakfast."

The Knave tried to hide his smile as he paused before undoing all those buttons, ties and zippers.

"Yes, my Queen." He said as he sauntered his way over to the bed while shaking off his pants. The Queen giggled as he watched him crawl over to him. The paper flew across the room in a dramatic flutter with all the pages raining across the floor.

* * *

><p>The Duchess sipped her tea quiet delicately. Everything about her was very doll-like and graceful. For such a young girl, this small body carried with it more refined charm and delicate courtesy than the Queen at times. But then again, the Knave has seen the Queen at his crudest especially that same morning in bed. The Knave shook off the comparison. The Duchess was a calming being that Jack always took comfort in perhaps because she was the complete opposite of his capricious monarch.<p>

"Is the tea decent for you, sir Knave?" She finally asked.

"Yes it is, Duchess." The Knave responded. He wasn't very fond of tea actually despite it being a popular beverage within Wonderland. After having the usual polite chatter about the tea, the weather, his Majesty's health, the Knave finally crossed his legs that established his concerned manner of subject.

"Dear Duchess," He began. "You have read the newspaper of this morning?"

"Yes and I most certainly read the front page. The killer is caught and presumed to be The Dodo." She placed her teacup safely upon the silver tray.

"And you believe the story?" The Knave asked.

"If you read the story, you would already know that I do not. My name is featured within that article several times or have you skipped it?"

"I see. Then you know that the reason of my visit is on the matter of the coming trial?"

"I assumed it was such. I don't remember you coming to visit me often for a social visit in the past…or even liking tea for that matter." The Knave smiled politely and slowly set the tea down as if answering to the Duchess' correct assumptions.

"I'm afraid so. Her Majesty has asked for me to inquire of your plans in aiding the Dodo's case during the trial."

"I hope to do whatever I can to help save an innocent's life."

"So you believe the Dodo is innocent? That the country's top detectives were wrong after months of planning and accumulating evidence?" The Duchess stared at the Knave for a long while still she began to speak—choosing her words carefully.

"I believe that the jury as well as his Majesty are willing to convict _anyone_ as the killer for the sake of finishing this case, even killing someone who did not do it."

"What makes you believe that it wasn't The Dodo?"

"The Dodo has a gentle heart. Just listening to him speak you can sense that he doesn't even have the will to hurt someone. But I'm worried that truth will be ignored because everyone is so desperate to end this case."

"If what you're saying is true and the Dodo is _not_ the murderer than what's gonna stop the real one from killing again?"

"Nothing." The Duchess said simply.

"That doesn't make sense." The Knave twitched nervously. "Wonderland will not allow to kill an innocent if their death brings no end to the real killing."

"Stranger things have happened in Wonderland, sir Knave." The Knave rubbed his hands on his knees as a distraction_. If what the Duchess was saying ends up being correct, then Wonderland will have blood on her hands. Killing the Dodo to stop the murders is at least logical but killing an innocent while the real killer continues will only prove the country being a murderer as well._ After a pause the Knave eventually began to stand up for his leave.

"With that, dear Duchess, I will take my leave." The Duchess hopped off the couch as well to her feet.

"I'm sorry for not dispensing any more information."

"My Queen will be happy to hear what you've disclosed nevertheless." The Duchess nodded and began making her way around the tea table.

"I will have my Footman escort you out. Till than, sir Knave, I trust you with a pleasant rest of the day." She curtsies while the Knave bowed.

"My Duchess." He bowed. As she turned to leave a thought that the Knave promised to remember finally revisited him in a violent flash. "Oh Duchess!" He called just in time when she was about to leave the room. The sound of her name brought her right back as she wore a puzzled face.

"Yes, sir Knave?"

"I am sorry to ask at such a late moment but I have a more personal question to ask of you."

"Ohh?" The Duchess inched closer, her brow furrowed with the question—hesitant of what was to come from the Knave. "What is it?"

"We are all reoccurring characters. There have been Duchesses before you that have lived your role…'' The Duchess' face fell from the sad reminder.

"That is correct."

"Then," The Knave continued. "It makes sense that there were or was one before me?" The Duchess finally understood the Knave's question or at least the direction he was heading towards.

"You're treading on dangerous ground, Knave." She warned. "To look into the past is almost illegal in Wonderland."

"I was told from sources that he did exist. My former. But I also heard that he never died either—so he couldn't be a Regret."

"I know, Jack." The Duchess avoided his eye contact. "But you don't see me chasing after the history of my own precursors. It's best to keep looking forward. Now I apologize but…I must go." She turned to leave.

"But did you know of the Ace of Hearts before me?" The Knave reached out for her but only grabbed air. She opened the door to go—ignoring his questions but eventually she stopped and paused. The Duchess didn't have the heart to look back at him but she did turn her head—directing her voice towards him.

"You are the _only_ Ace of Hearts that I know of, Jack. No one else held that title." With that she slipped through the doors and free of his questions. The Knave stood within the parlor, more fraught with confusion than before he came in with. _I'm the only Ace of Hearts? The only Knave? But how? Both the Cheshire Cat and Dormouse spoke of the one before me and the Queen—he avoided the subject. Could she be doing the same thing? By lying to me that there was no such man?_

The Knave quit his thoughts soon after believing that pondering more upon them would only bring him misfortune. Though he considered it only a break from his personal investigation. In truth he would be patient until fate brings him to a closer clue. He didn't think talking to the Duchess was a mistake—in fact it only made him conjure up more questions in the future.

The creaking of the door awoke the Knave from his thoughts. He turned to find that the exit door was being held open from him to depart. Jack grabbed his sword and gloves as he left the parlor room towards the foyer. As he past, a large creature stood behind him as he tugged on each glove.

He turned to find it was the butler, the Fish Footman.

"Gyo!" He blubbered; seeing how it was the only word he knew to pronounce.

"Give thanks to the Duchess for her hospitality." The Knave said out of politeness. The doors were beginning to open for the Knave to depart the Duchess' mansion. Just when the Knave was about to step forward, the Fish Footman stop him by holding out his arm.

"Gyooo." He said in a lower voice. The Knave saw within his hand was a fortune cookie wrapped neatly in its plastic wrapper.

"No thank you, sir." But the Fish Footman instead shoved the cookie in his hands.

"Gyo Gyoo." The Fish Footman shook his large bulbous fish head, as if wailing over the Knave's ignorance. The Fish Footman turned to leave the guest within the foyer, after delivering what he was meant to do.

Alone the Knave left the mansion yet kept turning to look back at the Fish Footman. When no clue as to why he was given this surfaced, he eventually went back to the fortune cookie and unwrapped it. After breaking the fried golden cookie in half, it's predictable fortune wrapper appeared. The Knave turned it over and was surprised to what was handwritten within it.

_**Meet me at The Lion & The Unicorn. Alone**_

REVIEW ON THIS CHAPTER PLEASE!

I'm sorry if this chapter went a little too fast. I tried to throw in a hint of romance at the beginning but hopefully I caught every reader off guard with the fortune cookie. The Duchess was fun to write and I hope I portrayed her spot on. I hope everyone will comment within their reviews what they think. Also I was happy to include a more minor character of the Fish Footman (who was also a character within the original Alice in Wonderland stories). Thought he'd be a funny thing to include. Coming up is gonna be a really fun chapter to write. Totally new character but also new Point of View! 

Next Chapter: On A Great Wall

Till then I hope you leave a review!


	10. Chapter 9: On A Great Wall

**-Gilded Hearts-**

Chapter IX: On A Great Wall

_I cannot be caught._

_I am above the law._

_The blood of millions rampant in my mind._

_No reparation for my crimes._

_I am a criminal only in thought._

_I'll plunge this knife into your heart._

_-"Caught" Velvet Acid Christ_

_They say that an artist isn't famous until he is dead. I always wondered who were 'they' that claimed this notion to be true? This 'they'…are they the ones that determine good art from bad, bad taste from good? What is their credentials that gives them the right to judge so? Are they artists themselves? Beings of talent and inspiration to create and form? _

_No._

_None of them are. And yet the balance of what's good and what's bad is at the mercy of their fickle decisions. A horrible and violent world it is and to battle against it is only a naive dream shared by the youth. _

_Once upon a time I was that naive. A young writer on the brink of fame and immortality. Compared to the trash that's being read and revered now, I had no doubt in my mind of the fortune that I deserved. Though material fortune was something that I didn't lack in. Coming from an old family with money and being the only one alive to hold onto it, finances were never a problem. A comfortable living only became more comfortable when I was able to quit my job and have the freedom to indulge in my art. _

_The manuscripts that I sent out were raved and begged to be published. And once finally published my novels were a hit. Critics and reviews herald me as the voice of today's generation—a rival to the true writer of Wonderland. _

_At long last I had a moment in time something that I excelled in and only reserved for me. No one else could achieve at what level I had and at such speed. Ever since a child I always knew that I was different, odd and off from the general outline of a young boy. Scowled by a cold mother and ignored by a neglected father didn't soothe the situation either. Their burials were celebrated with champagne and wine instead of a late morning trip to the cemetery. They were buried with no audience of mine. Instead I was busy finally signing contracts with top publishing houses. That spring time season, my novels were displayed in every corner window, held in every hand and topped every best selling list. At once I was a king in my own literary kingdom._

_But I only basked in the glory of the muses for so long until his truly decided to pick up the book as well. At first hearing that our dignified monarch cared to read one of my novels was an honored blessing. Yet fate played a cruel joke when that beast of a Queen trashed my works into a state of disgrace, ruining what I have poured my heart and soul into. _

_His word was law but his fancy was custom. Whatever struck his interest caught on like wildfire as well as everything he detested was soon expelled from society. _

_The moment gossip took route that the Queen trashed the book, the books began collecting dust on shelves, critics forgotten it and moved onto a less deserving book. I was finished. My yellow brick road stopped at a rudely made dead end. After such banishment from the literary circles one would call it impossible to find their way back it. And yet the Hartford Publishing Journal continued to produce, push and publicize lower standards of works. Filthy journals, mindless ramblings, horrible diction, idiotic clauses and phrases! I couldn't take it. To think that I am worthless compared to this scum! To actually believe that MY work was of lesser rate than this trash…it was unbearable. The questions that took up my day drove me insane in my own home._

_I don't know what took him off. What did him in? Was it a phrase, a character he didn't like—the outcome of the novel? What was it? I had to know!_

_In a drunken state after a night of too much brandy to dull the pain, I went mad and raced through the streets heading towards the cast. Armed with only my drive and a loaded .357 Magnum with an 8inch barrel. I remember that night so clearly…_

* * *

><p>"I'm gonna demand to see that bastard that did me in!" <em>I stumbled upon another uplifted root. It seemed the entire forest was tearing itself from its soil in hopes of stopping me. <em>"Ow!...Fucking root!"

_I aimed straight at the same tree root that caused my grief. I was about to aim at it again until I heard my name through the forest fog._

"Richard?" _I called and through the mist, like a ghost came the figure of a body that I had grown to love and know so well. Richard had followed me all this night. When he came downstairs to not find me slumped over my desk drowning in liquor, he grew frantic with worry. I remember how warm Richard felt when he crashed into me. I melted instantly and would have probably stayed there if he had not reminded me of my purpose. When he asked me why I had a gun, I shoved him away—knowing full well that he was inching his way over to snatch it from me: the one control I've had left in my life._

"I'm gonna demand to see him! Demand that he explain to me what would make my book so below him! Stupid tart probably couldn't read it—that's why he threw it away!"

"That's boarding on treason to talk of our Queen that way. Hush lov—''

"No! I've worked relentlessly on perfecting that book. Everyone loved it! EVERYONE!...Why didn't he? Why couldn't he understand what everyone else loved?"

"You'll prove them wrong! You'll write another book, one more brilliant than the first. One so outstanding that even the Queen will have no choice but to love it—''

"Shut it! The first one was enough! Why should I scrape and bow when everyone should be doing the same for me! THEY should be clinging at my doors begging for me to write again. But no…instead they want these pathetic arrogant college-learned ass wipes to write their immature thoughts on concepts too beyond them to fully comprehend much less expand upon! Bunch of ignorant monkeys who dress to pretend like they're insightful all because they have a piece of paper."

_I continued walking through the path but Richard wouldn't let me go. He'd try to coax me. He didn't care of me going to the palace but the presence of the gun was a menacing haunting that pledged him. He tried kisses, promises, embraces but I wouldn't give it to him. At one point, in a moment of desperation that did him in, he boldly snatched it from him hand. From there it's hard to remember. I don't know how long we've wrestled for that gun. As the years tear me apart from that moment, taking me further and further away from that night, it becomes more difficult to remember. The movie that plays in my head collects more dust around the edges to the point where I can't make out its characters anymore. _

_But he fell. That's how he died. Fell and broke his neck. We were upon a steep hill and he toppled down like a fabled Jack or Jill; leaving me to be the only one alone to quote the rhyme. _

_Seeing him lying there. Sprawled out upon the forest's floor froze me to stare bewildered. I kept looking into his blank staring eyes, desperately waiting for a spark of life to ignite behind them. _

_The police found him there as such. I read about it in the paper next week's morning. You can say I was waiting for that paper. The one where splashed upon the front page was the detailed story of my sins for all of Wonderland to read. I didn't leave my house after that night. Shaken by the death and intensified by the booze, I ran as fast as I could back to the house. There for the next six days I barely left my study. _

_It wasn't the fear of getting caught that confined me there. It was the fact that he was gone, and it was all my fault. The blame of ending the life that I so loved and cherished when I had so little to hold on to was solely placed upon me. No matter what I kept seeing his blank staring eyes. Kept replaying the moment where I slowly crept over him, repeatedly calling his name. _

_I didn't even read past the headline. I knew that they would come. Storming through my house. I kept my gun on hand to be prepared when they do. For the moment I would hear the banging of my door, I was prepared to take the gun upon myself. The punishment of being beheaded for killing my own lover was too much to grip. When the opportunity for justice to take its toll, I was willing to end my life. _

_But to both my surprise and dismay…they didn't. Justice never found me. No one ever came. And soon enough, the story was forgotten and eventually abandoned. At first I felt disgusted. Disgusted at myself for being allowed to live. I can't count how many hours I paced the halls, shoving the barrel into my throat and cowardly tearing it away with a scream. After nights of failed suicide attempts, I finally couldn't take the company of my own self anymore._

* * *

><p><em>The sun of the late morning was an refreshing warmth upon my skin but the sun didn't make such an impact on me. The shocking news was the fact that no one recognized me. Everyone continued as they were. A young man found dead mere days ago in cold blood and yet no one happened to notice that they were passing by his murderer. No one cared. No one even bothered to look up. Their indifference was torturous. Guilt ridden I have battled against my own self to decide on the continuance of my life. A life would have been ceased for the sake of the one stolen within the woods and yet no one paid attention. Did any of them knew what potential this boy had within him before he died? What love he carried within his heart? How selfless he was? No. None of them cared. Nothing more than sheep within a flock.<em>

_None of them were of the same level as Richard. Just as none of these new writers were of the same level as me. But despite that fact, fate had undone us within a mere moment. With such silence and tranquility, he was gone. Life had robbed him from me by ridding him of his life. And none of the people around me cared. _

_They didn't deserve any of it: their life. They were a bunch of sacks of skin and scum. Idiots learning nothing from the lives of others that passed them by. None of them deserve it!_

_I was at a point from the madness of it all. In a matter of seconds I had gain enough grief and desperation to race back to my house and finally pull that trigger which I have been struggling to do all along. But the moment I turned around I had found what had saved me. _

_A copy of the latest Hartford Journal and splashed upon the page was the official announcement of a new worthless writer._

_I bought the Journal for a dollar, twenty and the next week, the writer was dead._

* * *

><p>"…it was what you've suspected." <em>I hear the heaviness within the Detective's throat. How hard it was for him to admit his mistakes. <em>"She went to him."

_I continued staring out the window, following the strangers that walked the sidewalks in groups. The Tower was about to ring 11:00pm within a matter of minuets. _

"Bring her to me. The scaffolding of the construction site. I'll be there." _Tweedledee scuffled out. They're getting scared around me. More so then usual. It's gonna take a lot more to settle them back down. Bring back their confidence to me. _

_This will asunder all our past plans but what the girl did has already ruined them with her own doings. _

_Her death will be the repercussions. _

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!

That chapter really was a lot to get through. More than I thought. At first I believed this was gonna be an easy chapter but writing like another person was a tough thing to continue after the first couple of paragraphs. Originally I had more within the chapter but because I didn't think it was necessary (although more detail is always nice). So I hope you got the general gist of this killer. Possibly some clues. He'll come around again within the next few chapters. But I hope he wasn't too cliché or boring or one dimensional! I know a lot was packed into that chapter so if anyone has any questions just post it within the REVIEW section. Next chapter the Knave is going to where his fortune tells him-a short but interesting chapter. 

Next up: The Caterpillar 

Don't forget to leave a review


	11. Chapter 10: The Caterpillar

**-Gilded Hearts-**

Don't forget to leave a review

Chapter X: The Caterpillar

_I know you're not ready to live._

_Are you ready to die?_

_Cause under your skin, under your skin,_

_Is a regular guy._

_-"Lowlife" Scanners_

The Unicorn & Lion Crossing.

It's the merge between two vital streets of Wonderland: Unicorn Lane and Lion Crossing. Together they form a site where lots of blood and strife have taken place within these two streets. In the past when Wonderland was under siege of the terrible strife between warring gangs, this cornerstone of the city's streets was an epicenter of many fallen bodies.

Now after the gangs have been dissolved and the violence has declined, Unicorn and Lion Crossing remains to be a ghost of the old past. At present, it's a bustling market place during the day full of fishmongers and fresh produce. But when the Ace arrived at the crossing, it was the early beginnings of night and all the stalls were swept away, the people gone to their homes, and the streets were only filled with people passing through with no intention of staying.

The Knave stood underneath the street signs bearing the name of the two infamous streets. He looked at the fortune again to double check if there were more specific details hidden within the message. There were none. The Ace had no choice but to wait for the messenger. Across the street stood a statue that caught his eye.

It was of the fabled old Lion who, according to nursery rhymes, defeated the Unicorn for the crown. The creature was of obvious regal elegance and strength but Jack noticed something that he has not seen till now after staring intently into the gilded creatures eyes. He sensed a sad longing within them. Whether this was the intention of the sculpture or not, Jack couldn't tell at that time. Wonderland is filled with many forgotten statues scattered throughout the land—their purposes eroding to nothing throughout time until left useless but to be stared at. The Ace wondered if he would ever become such a statue like the Lion. One who had once reined King but now fallen into disarray and hopelessness.

"The Lion and the Unicorn were fighting for the crown."

The sudden voice frightened the Knave causing him to turn swiftly to the hooded figure who spoke. It came from a quaint body shrouded in a earthy green woolen cloak.

"Wha-who are you?" The Knave finally found his words. The figure gave no answer but continued walking towards him.

"The Lion beat the Unicorn all around town." The figure pulled out a cigarette and brought it to its mouth, which remained in shadows from the hood of its cloak.

"Are you the one who sent me this message?" The Knave held out the small slip of paper from the fortune cookie. The figure remained silent as it continued lighting the cigarette. The light from the flame of the match illuminated the hood that the face hidden within it. The Knave saw the face of the figure to be of a young lady with light green eyes and pale skin. Her white bangs framed her face but showed that her eyes did not carry the youthful cheeriness that a girl of her age should carry. Her eyes were jaded with toil and tiredness usually found in souls older than hers.

"Aye." She finally said after a long drag.

The Knave walked closer and noticed a purple butterfly tattoo upon the cusp of her left breast. It was a typically sign of a generic trade marking the wearing of a specific profession.

"You're a prostitute?" Jack said it more of a remark than a question.

"Aye, I am." The hooker answered. She gave no move to say anymore causing the Knave to become worried if he were wasting his time.

"So what did you drag me out here? How do you know the Duchess? What does this message mean?"

"The message means exactly what its written to say. You're hear at the spot so I assume you've understood it well enough." The Knave straightened his disposition. She was a smart mouth of a girl.

"The Duchess—''

"I don't know that Duchess. It's the Fish Footman that I know of. He was able to do me the favor of passing the message to you." The Knave didn't want to know how she knew the Footman so he didn't ask.

"What is it you wanted to tell me?" He asked sternly.

"To tell you that it's not the Dodo."

"…wha—''

"The Duchess was right. It wasn't the Dodo who's been committing all these murders."

"So, what do you want me to do about it—''

"I want you to catch the real culprit. Just because they found someone to blame doesn't mean the murders will stop. He's gonna keep on killing." She took another drag from the stick of nicotine. She kept looking around as if suspicious of ever shadow around her.

"What do you know to be so sure that the Dodo isn't the one doing it?"

"I know the Tweedles." She answered simply, her eyes still shifting. The Ace cocked his head at the leggy hooker.

"The Tweedles? As in Detective Tweedledee?"

"Tweedledee and Tweedledum. They're twin brothers and corrupt as much as Unicorn and Lion's Crossing. They got their hand in almost everything. The drug trade, the police."

"How do you know of this?"

"Because." The girl took another drag from her cigarette. "They've got their hand in my business as well." The Knave looked the hooker up and down, understanding what she meant.

"So Detective Tweedledee is just pulling names out of a hat to find who's the killer."

"Only to cover up the real one."

"The true murderer?"

"Yep. They're working for him. Hiding whatever evidence the real police can grab onto. Leading the case into dead-ends and even false ones. Like the Dodo."

"Why are they working under this man so much? Are they puppets and he's the puppet master?"

"They're afraid of him. He's one of real money and here if you have money you have power. That's how the Tweedles live their lives by. They wouldn't dare cross him."

"Who is he—'' Before the leggy prostitute could answer there was a shift of sudden movement behind their pair, hidden within the shadows of an ominous alley. It was enough to startle the already paranoid girl. She threw her cigarette to the floor and smashed it with the heel of her stilettos.

"I gotta go!" She turned.

"Hey! You can't just go after telling me all this!" The Knave followed after.

"Its not safe anymore. He's got eyes all over the place."

"Who is he? Just tell me the name!"

"I can't—he'll know! I'm already a dead man if I keep talking to you!"

"But wait! I can protect—''

"Save your lies for Alice. There's nothing that you can do for me. Better keep your guard about you."

"Wait! Can I at least get your name? Or we can meet again!" The girl stopped and paused. She quickly looked over her shoulder at him.

"They call me Caterpillar. I hope you'll never have to hear that name again." The Knave furrowed brows as he watched her continuing walking into the dark streets.

"Why?" He called out.

"Because it'll mean I'm dead." She finally answered. With that the Knave let her go, watch the Caterpillar escape from his grips while the eyes of Wonderland watched them from above.

REVIEW REVIEW!

Sorry if the ending to that chapter was a little choppy and rushed. I was having trouble on how to end it. But I'm glad to introduce the Caterpillar. Instead of the bouncy and saucy girl introduced in the manga, I kinda put my own spin on the character by giving her a different persona. It can easily fit with the manga's storyline too if you wait till the 12th chapter. I had a lot of fun setting up the scene for this chapter especially in terms of the Lion and the Unicorn. The rhyme that the Caterpillar recites is actually a real nursery rhyme that the Unicorn & Lion originate from. Next chapter is gonna be an R rated chapter due to sexuality, language and adult violence. 

Next chapter: A Deck of Hearts


	12. Chapter 11: A Deck of Cards

**-Gilded Hearts-**

Chapter XI: A Deck of Hearts

_The dark of the alley._

_The break of the day._

_The head while I'm driving,_

_I'm driving._

_Soft lips are open._

_Knuckles are pale._

_Feels like you're dying,_

_You're dying._

_-"Sex on Fire" Kings of Leon_

It was another late afternoon and the palace had paused its busy routine of a day to break for tea, only that the Queen wished for a taste of something sweeter today.

The room was filled with the steady noise of a creaking bed, the shifting of sheets, the slapping of skin against skin and the hushed gasps of the monarch and grunts of his lover.

The Queen raised his hands above his head; gripping the top of the gilded headboard as he arched his back like a taunt and readied bow. Between his knees was the Ace's hips who focused on heaving steadily in and out of his monarch, his eyes closed and not caring that his hair blinded his vision, or that the comforters had long fell to the floor exposing their naked skin or that outside the court could hear every moan and scream.

"My Queen-'' he tried to begin but pleasure took his voice.

"Yes, come. Come." The Queen hushed, urging him on and insisting to finish for he was close as well. Their movements became quick, short and desperate just as their breathing. The Ace's thrusting pace quickened as the Queen began clawing at the molding designs of the mahogany headboard. It pains the Ace that something that feels so precious only lingers for but a moment. He could feel the heat of his blood boil and course through his veins—starting at the center between his hips and reverberating throughout his whole body. The Queen released the headboard and instead placed his hands on his Knave's bucking hips—loving the feel of the power and vigor that moved swiftly under his finger tips.

"Ah—'' The Ace gasped—signaling his coming release. "No." He whispered. Hoping in vain that his words would defer his coming end.

"Yes." The Queen urged on as he had been wishing his cumming to arrive sooner.

The Ace ceased his quick short rhythms and traded them into a slow rolling of his hips while he was beginning to wash away with his overwhelming orgasm.

"No." He whispered with another roll of his hips. "no. no. no."

"Uh—yes!" The Queen hissed. "Cum into me my Knave. I want you swimming inside of me."

The Ace continued rolling his hips within the Queen, feeling the release of his vigor and energy spill into the Queen while he tilted his head to the ceiling. As the Knave rolled back, it gave the Queen a moment to marvel at the ripples and shadows of the Knave's tightly woven torso. Beauty and perfection carved deeply into the making of the Knave's body and the pleasure that it was all his gave the Queen the final push to cum.

When the Knave felt the light cool liquid spray onto his skin—signaling that the Queen was done—he looked back down at the satisfied smile of his monarch. Both heaving, they began to chuckle at the pleasures each endured.

"Lower yourself my Ace but do not dare pull out." The Ace smiled as he laid himself on top of his Queen. "I'm not ready to release you yet from between my thighs."

"A prison I wouldn't mind to be forgotten in." The Ace teased causing the Queen to smile wider. It pleased the Ace that despite the case of the murderer still open and unsolved, the Queen was still in good spirits. He'd like to believe it was of his doing. The Queen pushed his dangling blond hair that covered his face to the side.

"Tell me a story, my Ace." He requested softly.

"Of what would you like me to tell?"

"Of the first time you saw me."

"The moment I saw you?" The Ace asked.

"Yes. But whisper it." The Queen lowered his voice. "It's a secret. Tell me everything what you were feeling and thinking of that moment. Or have you forgotten?"

"I would sooner forget my own name than forget the moment I first saw you, my Majesty." The Ace whispered. The Queen smiled while staring deeply into his hazel eyes.

"Then tell me."

"It was a Thursday morning when I first opened my eyes. A Fall Thursday. Early fall—the summer sun was still keeping us warm."

"Yes. I remember—the leaves were still turning from green to red when you arrived."

"I arrived naked to your Majesty's throne room."

"Hahaha! Yes—all the ladies of the court were fanning themselves profusely at the sight of you. They were so flustered and confused."

"But then I looked up."

"Why did you look up?"

"I heard giggling. It came from a cluster of young ladies in black lace dresses. Their faces half covered with black lace veils. But you could still tell they were pretty lovely from the way they moved and spoke. Light and airy like angels in black. They all turned to me and I shrank away from them. I didn't want them to see me. To stare at me like piece of meat. They began talking about me and asking questions as to why I was there and naked."

"Such bold ignorance."

"But you snapped at them. That was the first time I heard you. Before I even saw you. Like thunder. You told them to stop being so immature and you dismissed everyone in the throne room."

"I was so angry at everyone."

"Angry, your Majesty?"

"Angry that they all saw you first but me. I wanted to see you first. I wanted to be your first—you're first sight into Wonderland. But when I saw you crouching on the marble floor staring at it and shying away from my face, I knew my plan was ruined. I beheaded the Marshall that day for his mistake." The Ace chuckled at himself for thinking that his birth was the day where no beheadings took place. "Once the room cleared out I stepped down my threshold over to you. You still couldn't bare to look up—even when I was practically kneeling before you."

"I felt unworthy to look at anyone."

"Best everyone left the room. God forbid if a subject saw me—the Queen of Hearts—kneel before a cowering naked young man!" The Queen began combing the Knave's hair with his fingers. "Your hair reminded me of the smell of rain. Fresh but sweet." The Knave grew more at ease with each stroke of his hair.

"May I be so bold to say, that I believe the Queen wanted to retell the story more than listening to me tell it?" The Queen chuckled for the Knave knew him too well.

"Why were you so keen on me seeing you first? You killed the Marshall for it. What did it matter that I had to see you first before anyone else?" The Queen was quiet for a moment before he answered.

"So that I would be your Wonderland."

"What do you mean?"

"I was told that certain animals fall in love with the first thing they see when they open their eyes. That whom ever they saw they would believe to be their mother. And in the eyes of a child, a mother is God."

"You wanted to be worshipped by me. More so than as a simple Queen?"

"And yet you are. You're in love with me, my Knave." The Queen stated simply. The Knave felt his cheeks burn in embarrassment at how easily read and passive he has turned out to be. Of course he was in love with his Queen. The welfare and protection of the Queen was his sole purpose in Wonderland. To deny the Queen would mean him denying his own existence.

"But everyone loves you, my Majesty. Were you worried that I would turn out differently?" The Queen wanted to say something to his comment but he swallowed it with a guttural chuckle. The Knave lifted his head to face his Majesty.

"I guess I just wanted to take measure to make sure you would never leave me." He smiled as he tucked a lock of hair behind the Knave's hear. But that smile was soon dismantled by the Ace's coming comment.

"Is that what he did? Did _he_ leave you, your Majesty?" The Queen's face tightened and froze. For a moment nothing stirred in the room. Not a breath. Not a touch. Not even the flickering of eyelashes from side to side. The stillness was the calm before the storm.

SMACKKK!

The moment the Knave felt the anger in the Queen's hand as it clashed against his cheek, he knew he had to remove himself from the monarch's bed immediately.

"I told you to NEVER bring up that subject again!" The Monarch roared. As he angrily sat up and positioned to get off the bed the more the Knave cowered to the floor like a frightened dog ashamed before its master.

"Yes, your Majesty." He bowed his head hoping that it would suffice his Queen.

"And yet you bring it back up again!"

"I apologize your—''

"Shut-up you moron! After everything I give to you, you still disobey me!"

"I promise you I've—''

"ENOUGH!" The Queen raised his hand; threatening the Knave for one last strike but he didn't. He didn't have the energy to leave the bed and strike him again. He wanted the Knave to leave and stay out of his sight for the next several days.

When all was quiet and still, the Queen dropped back into the comfort of the pillows and buried his head under a sea of blankets and dark thoughts.

_Why is he so persistent in bringing that up? What will 'knowing' give to him – a sense of peace? No! Idiot. He doesn't understand that by __**not**__ knowing, he'll be better off. If he understands how much it pains me, what is driving him to keep asking? Hasn't he realized that the more he digs into the truth, the more he is breaking my heart?_

But the Queen was wiser than he looks and even he cannot overrule the universal law that all things come to light; including truths once tucked away. Even if one placed them in nice neat stack and cleaned up all the blood. They'll still find him.

A LIFETIME AGO…

He relished the final snap. How that though they squirm and flail their arms in desperation from his grasp, even they themselves understand that once his hands wrap around their jaw, they are done for. The moment he heard the finalizing **snap** of her neck, he felt her falling into his arms like a dismantled doll. He quickly looked around the room even though they were alone in the hotel suite. Then he dropped her body to the floor and began furiously opening up drawers of the dresser.

"Where did you keep them, sweetheart?" He whispered to her ghost. After he tore the room apart, he finally found his prize – a fresh deck of cards that she mentioned to him in a conversation far away. He pulled them out and shuffled till he found the right one he wanted the moment he saw her pretty green eyes.

The Queen of Hearts fluttered to her parted lips. His bloody signature: a single card for every life. This trust fund baby girl was his 52nd kill. The same number of a deck of cards. The last kill. 52 bodies for 52 cards. An obsession he developed after living on the strip of Las Vegas. With a call girl as a mother, he eventually wound up working in the nights of Sin City dealing the tables till he soon grew to hunt around the tables. He guessed it all started with an accident. Too much wine topped with too much fooling around lead to a brawl in the back of a casino's parking lot. Apparently, one of the girls belonged to another and her keeper came to reap what he had sowed. It started out as aggressive pushing until something popped in his head. Maybe it was combination of the speed and alcohol that finally tore what was becoming a growing tumor in his conciseness? Maybe he hit the brick wall too hard when the boyfriend shoved him? Whatever it was that night; the guy didn't expect him to push off the wall at such an inhuman speed nor did he expect him to furiously dig his fingers into his eye sockets before scooping them out like melon balls.

He never thought it till now. Not only were the walls of casinos built to keep out the sun but they were also meant to keep out noise – for the sake of the players to play long enough before bowing down to the house. Not one disillusioned soul heard the boyfriend's screams. He relished the feel of his eyeballs swimming through the palms of his hands till it became overly unbearable to not enjoy the pleasure of feeling it squeezed between his palms.

The first was an accident. No one knew the boyfriend actually had a girlfriend. She wasn't smart enough to think that he had gone after the man she'd been cheating with. The moment she began running to his apartment begging for him to console her, he did away with her with a curt smack. The idea of killing her fluttered across his mind, but he thought it best to not have two kills so closely connected with one another. Last he heard, she moved to Colorado.

Vegas he still stayed. The second came months after the first but it never left his mind. The pleasure. The release. How he adored the color red spilling from his sockets. He playfully licked a fingertip and trembled at the rusted taste. The second was a mugger prowling the streets. He had recently gotten laid off at the gentleman's club for fooling around with the ladies instead of paying attention to the clients' drinks. With no cash for a cab ride home, he walked with anger fueling every step. The mugger was no saint but no one deserved to die in such a way. At least not with such hate.

He knew he was being followed. The wind was in his favor that evening, and so on that breezy summer night it whispered to him in fumes of cheap rum and cigarettes. He thanked the city of Vegas for the warning and so turned into an alley between two desolate condemned buildings where his stalker foolishly followed. The knife meant nothing to him. In a swift second, he had what once was a threat now his own instrument. First he dug deeply into his throat. Then he plunged below the man's clavicles and drew a long line down to his naval. The sounds of flesh being sliced apart excited him and he found himself laughing at the end of it all.

The cards came the moment he realized he was having too much fun. That night he returned to his barren studio apartment and looked into the bathroom mirror. The sickly blue light was that you'd see in lifeless operation rooms. The blood that coated his front from his chin to his knees only made it seemed more like that. He kept staring into that mirror. The face that he knew belonged to him but wasn't the same man before. Was he always like this? This hateful? This vicious? He had always been a shy and awkward boy. Even his mother would turn and whisper to her confidents that she believed something wasn't right with her son. He looked the same and talked the same but he didn't react to things the same. He never cried as a baby. Even when he fell and got hurt, he never reached for his mother. He'd just stare at his gushing wound till someone thankfully found him before he bled to death. Eventually through sex he was able to mimic helpful mannerisms to conceal his oddities. But it seemed that the years of playing pretend only summered the monster within him deeper into a dark cage with an easily broken lock.

Now as he stared into the mirror he learned that cage was now open. He knew he liked to kill but he didn't want it to consumer. No. In order for his own sake – his own sense of self-preservation he placed a number on himself. A limit. An end for all good things must come to that. Cause if continued on with no restraint, no limit – what he'll see within the mirror will probably horrify him more than anything. Like a Dorian Grey peeping behind a covered up frame. He pulled out a packet of cigarettes that night for a smoke but when he searched for a light, he found a pack of cards. A fresh deck that he had for one of the tables. 52 straight with no Jokers.

Cause in the end, he was the Joker. They were all cards in a deck – players meant to trump one and the other in this game of life but not him. No he was the anomaly. Never a card within the game but also among them.

But now what? What now? He looked at his hands hoping they'll tell him what to do – as if he never was the one in control of them in the first place. The girl was dead and she wasn't even that good. No blood. No mess. Instead he felt numb that night. Almost as if he wanted to rush to the end of his killing game. He left her whole in her suite only taking with her the Mercedes her father leant her that weekend.

After that night, he found his way to the White Rabbit and was given a new name, a new life and a new purpose. He washed away the blood and decreed to never see that color again for it was a reminder of his past life. But this killer. This ghost haunting his Kingdom. He had to get rid of him for the sake of his citizens as well as himself. This murder was just as bad as the sight of red. It was like that one night when he stared at himself in the bathroom mirror. Staring into those mauve lifeless eyes.

Because this killer is just another reflection of the monster within him.

I'm back. 

Sorry for the shaky ending. I felt like I had to push myself to wrap up this chapter because if I don't get this ONE chapter out of the way, the others won't follow after. I'm kicking this story into high gear and wrapping up all lose ends within my account. I hope the love scene was done well for I always feel like I stumble upon those. And if the flashback of the Queen was too choppy let me know. I wanted to delve into the Queen's past a bit as a fun background story but not one that drones on like a biography. Next chapter we see our Caterpillar again. PLEASE COMMENT!


	13. Chapter 12: Had a Great Fall

**-Gilded Hearts-**

Chapter XII: Had A Great Fall

_Put the one by the two_

_Cut the rest into lines_

_But there's blood on the door_

_And you're feeling just fine_

_But you ran out of time_

_- "D.O.A" Sleigh Bells _

The city was in chaos to the point where the Knave could have sworn he had woken up not on his but by the panic cries of the city. Soldiers rushed about the castle to again retain their guarding positions while maids ran about to notify the rest of the court of the news. He barely had enough time to change and dress for the day till he heard the hurried knock on his door.

"Sir, the carriage is here." A muffled voice called from behind.

"I am coming out soon." He returned.

He didn't learn the entire story until the reprieve of the ride from the castle to the morgue. The soldiers understood this and placed a copy of the day's paper – still in the process of being delivered across the town – within the vacant carriage. Jack picked up the crisp issue, still warm from the printing machines, and read the front page written in screaming bold captions: KILLER STILL RAMPANT AND ON THE LOOSE!

Below was a mug shot of a young face with aged eyes. She didn't have that miserable smug look the night he first saw her, but the Knave knew the moment he saw that image that she was dead. Caterpillar.

According to authorities – or what they allowed to be written within the paper – a young woman was found dead between two seedy businesses within the Red Light section of the town. Not far from the same crossing he had encountered her only two nights ago. Her neck was broken and based on her surroundings; it appears she fell to her dead from the roof of the eight story office building that held a miscellaneous amount of off the book businesses. She left no note and had marks around her neck and forearms that showed signs of restraint and struggle; ruling out that this was a suicide. The article went on concerning about her scandalous occupation and lack of family without hinting further on the case itself. At the very end, almost like it was an after thought, the finalizing sentence set the pace as why the publishing company set the font so bold: With all said, the Dodo Bird has been released based on his innocence making the real killer at large.

_So it wasn't the Dodo Bird._ Jack laid the paper to drape across his lap as he turned his attention to the forest racing past. _They let him go. The Queen, when he wakes up and reads the paper, will have a field day. Heads will definitely roll this afternoon – that's for sure. And Detective Tweedle. I wonder if one of them will be his…or his brother's/._ The Caterpillar's warning words replayed within his mind. From her he learned that whoever is doing these killings is pulling the strings of Tweedledee and his twin brother, Tweedledum. He knows since they are so closely linked that he should avoid them at all costs for the sake of his own life, but the Knave couldn't help but wonder how their shocked faces would be if they had seen this front page slapping the detective in the face.

That was one thing Jack couldn't understand.

If the Killer was pushing Detective Tweedlee into marking the Dodo Bird as the fall guy, then why did he kill the Caterpillar? Of course he knew why, but if he was smart he knew that he had made a mess of his former plan. By allowing the girl to live, he would have the Dodo bird take the blame and alleviate the heat on his back. But she knew too much. However; if he had killed the one person that knew too much to go against him, he would wipe out all possible threats but take the blame off his scapegoat.

It was a real catch 22 for this Wonderland Killer. Even Jack could understand the frustration that this conundrum would have caused the killer to kill again. But was killing the Caterpillar really the least of the two evils? Unless he doesn't plan on killing again…

By the time the Knave arrived at the city Morgue, the place was infested with reporters and journalists from all newspapers that the Kingdom help. Some from neighboring towns as well. The Trump Soldiers helped aid Jack in pushing his way through the mob before finding sanctuary in the silent and still entryway of the morgue. There, as if waiting this entire time, was the doctor himself.

"My Lord," He began.

"Where is the girl?" Jack approached. The doctor motioned down the hall.

"This way. Follow me, Sir." Jack followed him down the long corridor and noticed the temperatures dropping drastically with each step. Through the steel door was a white room with various medical instruments hanging on the walls. At the center was a large lamp that flickered every now and then if you moved too fast upon the floors. Shining below its blaring light was a long metal table and upon it, the naked body of the Caterpillar.

As the Knave approached, the doctor began reciting his medical examination conclusion.

"31 years old. Female. Born Katarina Pilar. Went by, Caterpillar. No record of living relatives. Occupation: unknown but based on her results she had various forms of STDS so I believe its safe to say she prostituted herself and not wisely. She also has a long history of smoking various substances; which could explain the fungus growing on her tongue. But it seems in this case, the cause of death an overdose of several substances included various prescription pills and heroin."

"—I thought it was that the neck snapped during her fall?" The Knave looked up.

"The papers written that but it was actually that she was dead long before her fall. The toxicity reports show she ingested a lethal amount of various narcotics."

"All the other murders had their neck snapped."

"Yes. But not this one. She was killed entirely different."

"But the papers didn't make note of this change."

"The papers are causing fire to where there is nothing to put aflame. They want to cause some controversy and turn it so that the police made the mistake of condemning an innocent to death row. But according to the facts, she was intoxicated when she fell. And dead. Her levels were off the chart with traces of alcohol, hash and heroin. Which based on various needle marks that scarring around her upper arms and the fungus on her tongue, it seems she has an extensive history with drugs. Common among those within such professions. The door to the roof is never locked from what the tenants say. It is most likely she had a customer on the rooftop and during or after the transaction, fell to her demise in her state."

"Or thrown over." The Knave finished.

"Thrown over. Yes, that is a possibility. But I've spoken with Detective Tweedle—''

"He was here?!"

"He came in with the body and stood outside till I was done with my full examination last night. It was he that told me all the other cases had their necks snapped. And that they were probably dead by the fall, not before."

"Yes. The murder killed didn't kill them but merely pushed them just right." The Knave was now remembering the mess of photographs taped to the Detective's wall.

"She died after the fall and from her own self. Not another."

"The bruises the papers told of?"

"Yes the bruises. They weren't from signs of restraint or struggle but merely needle marks and all weeks old and almost healed. Probably had a few rough customers in the past. Occupational Hazard, they call it."

The Knave stood up and looked at the blank expression on the Caterpillar's face. Her eyes were shut but he knew they would snap open any moment for that is what the dead are known to do. All was lost. Guess the killer found his way out of his Catch 22. He made it look like an accident by deviating away from his signature move: killed the bitch before her way down.

That means the Dodo Bird was still probably locked up and that this was no more than another clumsy whore who tripped and tumbled down like a little Jill. He was screwed. His only beacon of hope with worthy information was dead. A dead end. And not only that, Tweedle was here already to make sure that the facts were pointing in all the right ways despite what the papers say.

This hell fire that the journals are blowing up will soon be stomped out with the truth tomorrow – probably administrated by the Queen himself.

Jack knew this was the killer's doing though. She knew it was coming. That's why she ran off so quickly. Poor thing. She couldn't turn back the tide even if she could. The whore was done for the moment she slipped the Fish Footman her note to Jack. And the Dodo Bird. His one shot of being redeemed is now gone.

Not that Jack could have saved him. The Queen banished him from his sight till further notice after last afternoon. Even if he had doubts over this case, the Queen wouldn't be interested in hearing.

There was no reason to remain in the morgue. All that he needed to hear was said by the doctor. Jack turned to leave and motioned to the doctor as thanks for his services.

"There was one thing, my Lord." The doctor's voice carried a tinge of hesitation. The Knave stopped and released his hold on the doorknob.

"Speak your mind, Doctor." He walked closely to the old man, sensing that he didn't wish to speak loudly in case ears heard what he would say.

"He told me not the mention it. To overlook it and not have it written down."

"Who?"

"You know _who_." He was now whispering.

"Overlook what?" The Knave whispered as well. The doctor motioned Jack to follow him back to the body and turned the girl's wrist for her palms facing the ceiling.

In small hurried cuts, as if she dug them into her skin herself, were two letters carved into her side of her wrist.

"H D" The doctor repeated.

"What does it mean? What is H D?" The Knave leaned in closer.

The doctor looked at him with unblinking frighten eyes.

"I don't know." He whispered. "For as far as I know, H D is no where marked on her body."

The Duchess looked at the array of different swatches before her.

"Hmmm. I don't know." She held her finger to her lips. They all look the same but which one will outlast them all?

The dressmaker crooned over the Duchess and was about to point out his favorite fabric, which was ironically the most expensive, till the Knave crashed through her double doors.

" Apologies, Duchess!" He immediately called.

"Gyo!" The Fish Footman chased after him but stopped to examine if the doors dented the walls that they slammed into.

"But I could not wait till your appointment ended!"

"Well," She stood up from her couch. "If it's that urgent than I'll have to postpone my appointment till next week."

"Bu-but madam!" The dressmaker began to stammer till the Fish Footman grabbed his arm.

"Please escort Eduardo with the promise that I'll call upon him again, Footman." The Duchess led the Knave by the hand to another pair of double doors where her private library was held.

The Knave waited till she closed the doors to begin his rambling.

He told her everything. The papers – which she already had read. The Examiner. Which she already had known. And the truth of his relationship with the Caterpillar. Which, to his shock, she had known as well.

"So it was YOU who set the two of us up?" He pointed at her.

"I told her that she should mention that she knew the Fish Footman instead, it was I that begged her to meet with you."

"How did you learn that SHE knew who the murderer was? That she knew of the Tweedles?"

"She told me in confidence. I was sworn to keep secret but when I learned an innocent was going to be put on death row and that the killer was going to continue killing and walking, I convinced her to speak to you." 

"And now SHE'S dead and soon the Dodo will follow as well."

"You think I'm to blame for all this?"

"I think one would _still_ be alive!"

"Don't think so simply! The Queen is turning a deaf ear all of the sudden to this case when we most need him to realize that Wonderland has a serial killer on the loose and a powerful one at that!"

"You insinuating something?"

"I was told by the maids that he cursed you out of his sight for over a day now. Not the usual ending to your many _private_ audiences with the Queen." She cocked an eyebrow up towards him making him blush.

"It is only temporary. He'll come around once he blows off some steam."

"And by then the Dodo Bird will be dead and who knows who else will follow."

"What do you have me to do?!" The Knave snapped. "If I pressure the Queen any further, he'll have my head."

"We'll rely that the papers will cause enough chaos within the city. Did you forget that the truth is already out?" It took a while till the Ace finally realized it.

"It was YOU who tipped the papers this morning! You told them that the murderer was still out there and lied about the Caterpillar's death."

"Even though she died by overdoes, I leaked a fake examiner's report to the Daily Sun still. At least it'll give the Dodo Bird a few more weeks till we find who the real murder is behind all this." She began to run her lips against one of her silken ribbons.

"Did you see the body?"

"No. A morgue is no place for a Duchess like myself."

"Then you didn't see the marks?"

"What marks? Did she really have bruises?" The Knave shook his head at her.

"She did have bruises similar to the ones you lied to the reporters about but nothing beyond the normal amount of any prostitute whoring herself to violent men. No – the marks that he Doctor was forced to ignore within his actual report."

"Forced…Tweedle!"

"He was there long before me. Thank God. It would be stressful to encounter him this morning when we left on a bad footing. Then again, our start wasn't that graceful as well."

"What was the marks of that the detective wished to hide?"

"She knew she was going to die, The Caterpillar. She knew that by her dying, the truth would die with her. So in a desperate attempt she did the only thing she could do in hopes that something would live beyond her."

"What could that be?"

"With her own nails, she carved the letters H D into the inside of her wrist. Small enough to go unnoticed by our killer."

"H D? Or is it D H?" She asked.

"Who the fuck knows now. I came to you hoping you would know – since you withheld so much information already from me."

"That's enough, Ace. We are both on equal footing. And these letters are news to me. They are obviously a clue as to who our killer could be."

"Perhaps they could be the killer themselves?"

"A name?"

"Initials." The Knave answered. "But how many people in Wonderland carry those initials? There could be a hundred Henry Donalds throughout the country. Holland Davidsons. Or even better, Daniel Howards!" He leaned against a bookcase, hoping their knowledge would absorb into him.

"The first place to start is the Wonderland Registry. And luckily such records are kept within a notary shop here in this town."

"Hopefully the Tweedles haven't gotten there before me."

"You think they know that you are on to them?"

"If they don't," The Knave began to walk out. "Then our murder knows."

NEXT CHAPTER DONE AND DONE! Hope it wasn't too speedy for you. I know a lot of information is being thrown out so quickly. I felt like I couldn't handle in wasting too much time on description so I made the dialogues all quick and dry. PLEASE LEAVE YORU COMMENTS AND REVIEWS!


	14. Chapter 13: All The Kings Men

**-Gilded Hearts-**

Chapter XIII: All The Kings Men

_I only want to seem good_

_In front of the right_

_People_

_My aura's yellow like a coward_

_Tonight, I'm gonna melt some faces _

_With Gatling gun social skills_

"_Fortune Teller" Forest Fire_

With so much happening at the break of dawn, Jack looked up startled at the Clock Tower's chimes of 10am. To think that the country was JUST beginning to wake up made him weary that he was to look forward a few more possible heart attacks before afternoon tea. The idea made him grow tired all of the sudden that he slowed his once hurried pace through the East Bend area of town – a place full of shops and where the country's registry was located. Under an abandoned archway, placed right before the narrow street emptied into an open square, Jack finally forced himself to pause. The notary wouldn't be open really in another hour, so there was no need to rush. Also it was comforting to feel the cool stone hold him up when he believed he himself couldn't. It was then that the Knave sensed his presence.

"Tired are we?" He purred.

"You really have a knack of appearing when the shit hits the fan." The Knave snapped back though with the lack of usual vigor due to his unexpected exhaustion.

"It's been hard to reach you Jack – you've been a busy boy since we've last met."

"And still busy. So I best advise you to fuck off till next time."

"Aww, Jacky boy. Don't be so cruel." Jack turned to find him leaning on the same brick wall, smiling at him with that infamous grin that has locked so many unfortunate souls before him. The one that even Jack is now condemned of because of that curious grin. Cheshire Cat.

"A little bird told me that the Queen had a nasty fit the other day because of you. Heard you've been forbidden to be seen by him until further notice."

"That's interesting, Cat. Did you happen to eat that little birdie after it told you that?" The Cheshire Cat chuckled and pushed himself off the wall, hands digging deep in his black pants.

"Have you gotten further in your case my dear Ace of Hearts?" He turned his neck to look at Jack.

"Killer is still out there and despite our running's around, you still won't help us in-''

"Come now, Jack." The Cat interrupted. "That's not the case I care about nor have further information on. Your guess is as good as mine but I must admit, I always look forward to what this maestro has up his sleeve."

"So you enjoy in his killings, you twisted fuck?"

"It all seems so random to the point where I begin to feel we might have a true psychopath on our hands. That he truly enjoys in killing people."

"You seem amused by this, Cat. Is it because you've always deemed yourself as Wonderland's only psychopath?" The Cat tossed his hair and chuckled again.

"It's funny you say that when our own Monarch is one as well."

"Careful, Cat!" The Knave grabbed the Cat's collar and shoved him to the other side of the alley. At first the Cat gasped at the pain of wall slamming into the back of his head but then he let out a laugh. "You speak of treason when you speak against our Queen." The Cat could barely speak through his laughter.

"He is within you deep, isn't he Knave?"

"Stop talking nonsense?"

"You are the one that is not sensible. Loving someone so truthfully when they themselves don't love you."

"Stop it!" The Knave tightened his hold over the Cat's throat.

"You aren't the first, my dearest Jack. And you won't be the last." He tried to breathe.

"That's a lie! I was told that I was the only Knave! The only one!"

"But you are not the only one that was close to the Queen. Who knows how many more were before you? Who knows how many more will be after you?" The Knave didn't want to delve in further with this issue. It was questions that like that shattered his idyllic ignorance. He was better off dumb and unaware. Had the Cheshire Cat spared him, he would still be in good graces with The Queen.

A feeling of panic overcame Jack. He didn't want to be anywhere near the Cheshire Cat - as if his presence was as contagious as a plague. The Ace released the Cat with a shove and he continued his way deeper into town.

"But you know who would know, Jack?" The Cheshire Cat called out to him. The Knave kept walking – ignoring his last comments. "Yes. You do know, don't you?"

The registry wasn't housed in a governmental building guarded by soldiers and stacks of forms and approvals. Strangely, the most well stocked registry was hidden away in the back of a dusty notary shop that stayed afloat working as a book and stationary store.

WALRUS & CARPENTERS BOOK CO.

That was the name of the shop. It held a nostalgic aesthetic that brought bookworms to its cause. When the Ace entered, the place was vacant probably because it had just opened moments before.

"Hello?" He called wondering where the bookkeeper would be within this maze of shelves and scattered volumes.

"I'm right up here." Called a gentle voice. Jack looked up at the second floor that hovered above him. At the iron wrought rail stood the figure of a slender young man with silver hair and blue eyes. He wore a button down shirt and tied to his neck was a flimsy short necktie. But one wouldn't notice that for he donned an oversized knit cardigan in a darker shade of gray compared to his silver hair.

"I'm looking for a notary." The Ace called from below.

"And I am he." The bookkeeper replied as he made his way down the spiral staircase. "And who may you be?"

"My name is Jack." The Ace replied. He didn't want to startle the fragile looking man by alerting that he was on royal business with his lengthy title. Also, it seemed refreshing to be known by a simpler name.

"You look as though you belong in a Castle than in moldy bookshop." The Notary chuckled, as he looked him up and down.

"I am. Actually I am here to conduct some research on my Duchess' behalf. You see the Lady I serve wishes for me to review her family line. I am told that you hold the best registrar in town—''

"The Country for that matter. The founder – my Grandfather, Henry Walrus, was a very specific collector of names and accounts. He appointed himself to be Wonderland's source of birth records and so has been since after his death. Come with me – the Record Hall is in the back."

Jack followed him through a zigzag of claustrophobic book stacks.

"So I didn't know the country's registrar was also a family run local business." The knave carelessly joked; hoping that by inciting small talk with the young man he would acquire an extra set of helping hands on this.

"It's just me now." The bookworm answered. They came upon a brass cage-like wall gilded in scrolling designs. "My father and mother died in a tragic accident many years ago & I was their only child. So the shop is left to me to run as my own. I guess I do it more for their memory than for myself." He looked over his shoulder with a sad smile. The Knave blushed in embarrassment.

"I apologize for my previous joke. I did not mean to bring up such memories." The bookkeeper unlocked a caged door, and waited for the Knave to step in.

"Don't be. It was many years ago and we cannot keep looking what's been left behind." He locked the door behind them. "Please follow me this way and we'll get you set up."

The knave looked up and even saw that they very much were caged in. An enclosed space surrounded by brass link chain walls disguised in scrolling designs. It was a space large enough to fit a couple of long wooden tables of six, a few book trolleys and stacks of file cabinets that reached up to the ceiling of the cage.

"All records are ordered alphabetically. Do you know where to start?" The young man gestured upon the long line of solemn grey file cabinets. Strong and silent like soldiers awaiting roll call.

"My lady wished for me to start with her uncle whom she believed was name Hubert Delphy."

"Well then, the H's are over here and the Hu's are right…here." They stopped upon the file cabinet marked with a single H."

"Is this all of them? All the birth records?"

"hah!" The young man looked around. "Wonderland is not nearly as old as you think. Our history only goes back a couple hundred of years. Why we've only had one Qu-''

"Yes. I know that. Just thought there would at least be more people. That's all. How long am I allowed to be here?"

"We close at 5 every day. The step stools are scattered about. I hope you don't mind but I'll have to lock you in for security reasons." He began to walk towards the door.

"Yes, thank you."

"And if you need me, just call. My name is Rose." The young man turned to lock the door behind him.

"Thank you…Rose." The Knave smiled when saying the name. A peculiar one for a young man but something about it seemed fitting for him. He seemed delicate and pretty like a flower but something about him held an inner strength and confidence that he could hold his own. He carried himself knowing who he was which was more than what the Ace could say.

When the Ace knew Rose was gone, he began at the start of the H cabinet and opened the first drawer. At least when opening, he relieved there weren't that many H's within Wonderland's history. The first name was Hatter.

The Ace kept a list notebook in his breast pocket and after 4 hours he had filled up a few pages of all the residents within Wonderland the initials HD. He called Rose to come and unlock the door.

"I hope you found everything that you needed." Rose smiled as he opened the door.

"And if I didn't, I'll know who to go." The Ace grew to smile even more at each time Rose looked at him.

"Well we are open 6 days a week. So you're more than welcome to come any time during our hours." They made their way to the front of the store. When the Ace moved past to open the door, Rose couldn't help but glance at the soldier's graceful form in full.

"With all this help, I should repay you."

"We do not charge customers who wish to research our records." Rose smiled.

"Well then maybe I should at least take you out for tea – to repay your services."

"Perhaps." Rose hid his smile fearing he was doing it too much. "Till next time!" He waved.


End file.
